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PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



HARSHBERGER 



BY THE SAME AUTHOR 



A TEXT-BOOK 



OF 



Mycology and Plant Pathology 

271 Illustrations 
i2mo. xiii + 779 Pages Cloth, $4.00 



P. BLAKISTON'S SON & CO. 
PHILADELPHIA 



TEXT-BOOK OF 

PASTORAL AND 
AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

FOR THE STUDY OF THE 

INJURIOUS AND USEFUL PLANTS 

OF COUNTRY AND FARM 



BY 

JOHN W. HARSHBERGER, Ph.D. 

PROFESSOR OF BOTANY, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA; FORMER LECTURER FARMERS' INSTITUTES 

OF THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA; IN CHARGE OF THE FIELD AND SYSTEMATIC BOTANY, 

MARINE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY, COLD SPRING HARBOR, LONG ISLAND, 

NEW YORK; PRESIDENT OF THE PHILADELPHIA NATURAL 

HISTORY SOCIETY, PHILADELPHIA, 1920. 



WITH 121 ILLUSTRATIONS 



PHILADELPHIA 

P. BLAKISTON'S SON & CO. 

1012 WALNUT STREET 



SB 101 

■ H 3 



Copyright, 1920, by P. Blakiston's Son & Co. 



OC; - 1 1920 



©CI.A597590 



TUE'MArLE- I'UESS.TORK-PA 



PREFACE 

During and since the great world war there has been a growing demand 
for information on the injurious and useful plants of America. The in- 
jurious plants are represented by those belonging to the lower phyla, the 
thallophytes, which include the fungi, destructive to farm crops, and the 
higher flowering plants, which are some of them also injurious. In 
the following pages, particular attention will be given to the flowering 
plants with casual mention of the flowerless forms, which come within the 
purview of this book. The contents of the pages, which follow, epitomize 
the laboratory and research work of the writer connected with a course in 
botany given to the veterinary students of the University of Pennsyl- 
vania for the past twenty-five years. The course has been given during 
the college year for two hours per week, one lecture and one laboratory 
hour. The first term (October to February) is devoted to a study of the 
general morphology and physiology of plants, and the second term (Febru- 
ary to June) to the consideration of the plants (injurious and useful) of 
economic importance. The laboratory exercises supplement the lectures. 
The injurious plants are considered first, because they lend themselves 
peculiarly to indoor laboratory work of a technical kind, which can be 
pursued in the northern states, while wintry conditions prevail out of doors. 
Then too, professional students are anxious after the preliminary work 
has been given, such as the morphology and physiology of plants, to start 
at once upon the part of botany which apphes directly to the scientific 
preparation for their life's work. The study of the stock-killing and 
poisonous plants with the medical apphcations does this in a pecuHar way. 
These two reasons are the ones which determined the placing of the tech- 
nical laboratory methods first in the arrangement of the subject matter 
of this text-book. The study of the forage plants (grasses and legumes), 
of the weeds and of seed testing, which are presented in the final chapters of 
the book, is pursued naturally most satisfactorily, when the weather 
conditions permit the gathering of fresh material for lecture and labora- 
tory purposes, and when to some extent outdoor work is made possible 
and pleasant. The teacher in the southern states, or on the Pacific slope. 



viii PREFACE 

or elsewhere, where the climatic conditions of the winter months permit, 
can reverse the treatment of the subject by beginning the course with the 
contents of Chapter lo and end the course with the perhaps less familiar 
and technical chapters (Chapters 1-9 inclusive). In fact this arrange- 
ment was suggested by a prominent teacher of agricultural botany, as 
the logical treatment of the subject matter of the text-book. 

Where a text-book is considered advisable by the teacher for the work 
of the first term, the following books may be recommended for study in 
connection with the lectures and the laboratory work in general botany: 
Allen, Charles E. and Gilbert, Edward M., Text-book of Botany. Boston, 
D. C. Heath & Co.; Gager, C. Stuart: Fundamentals of Botany. Phila- 
delphia, P. Blakiston's Son & Co.; Ganong, William F.: A Text-book of 
Botany, New York, The MacMillan Company, 1918; Martin, John N.: 
Botany for Agricultural Students. New York, John Wiley and Sons, 
1 91 9; Transeau, Edgar Nelson: Science of Plant Life. Yonkers-on-the- 
Hudson, New York, 1919. For the laboratory course the writer uses 
Ilarshberger, John W.: Students' Herbarium for Descriptive and Geo- 
graphic Purposes. Philadelphia, Christopher Sower & Co. 

The chapters end with laboratory exercises and the methods of utilizing 
the illustrative material, which should accompany the detailed treatment 
of the subject. In order to appeal to a large number of teachers of agri- 
cultural botany, both in this country and abroad, the plants suggested 
for the laboratory exercises are selected from the common plants of the 
different countries and regions concerned. The good teacher, however, 
will be able to adapt the means to the end without slavishly depending 
ujion the laboratory exercises, which with him will serve as suggestions 
of the Une of work which he can undertake successfully in the allotted 
time. It is hoped, that the bibliographies at the ends of the chapters will 
prove helpful. The book, bulletins a,nd papers mentioned in these bibli- 
ographies indicate the sources of the information in the text and in order 
to simplify printing such references are omitted as foot notes from the 
pages cf the book. What material of the text, which is not mentioned 
specifically as derived from the author's own research and study, has been 
gleaned from a great variety of sources, such as personal interviews with 
farmers, agricultural professors and stockmen, or from books, bulletins 
and magazine articles, which have been read anrl the information contained 
therein has been absorped and has become part of the mental equii)ment 
of the writer. Where the subject matter of the text has been taken from 



PREFACE IX 

t 

printed books and bulletins, it has been rewritten and recombined, so as 
to become a part of the warp and woof of the finished literary fabric 
herewith presented. 

It is hoped, that this handbook will appeal to the student of plant 
life, particularly to the people, who, as agriculturalists, stock raisers and 
veterinarians, want to know something concerning the botany of the 
economic plants of interest to them in their agricultural, pastoral, or 
professional work. The plants chosen for treatment in the descriptive 
text, as the injurious, or useful, are those which have proven to be so. 
Plants of doubtful position in these respects have .been omitted. The 
writer wishes to acknowledge the help of Dr. John A. Kolmer of the 
Medical School, of the University of Pennsylvania, who has read the pages 
on the phytotoxins and Ehrlich's theory of immunity; of Dr. C. Dwight 
Marsh, Expert, Poisonous Plant Investigations, Bureau of Plant Indus- 
try, U. S. Department of Agriculture for cooperation in securing the use 
of published departmental photographs and to Mr. C. V. Brownlow of 
the firm of P. Blakiston's Son & Co. for the encouragement, which he 
has given during the publication of the book. 

John W. Harshberger. 
Philadelphia, July 31, 1920. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER 1 

Page 

Stock-killing Plants i 

Aspergillus fumigatus; Grasses which are mechanically injurious; ^Egagropilse 
and Phytobezoars; Clover hair balls; Cactus spine balls; Leaf hairs of plane 
trees; Bibliography; Laboratory work. 

CHAPTER 2 

Poisoning by Plants. General Principles 9 

Blyth's classification of poisons; Kobert's classification of poisons; Bernhard H. 
Smith's classification of poisons; Conditions influencing the formation of plant 
poisons; Chemical nature of poisoning; Ptomaines; Phytotoxins; Ehrlich's 
theories; Bibliography; Laboratory work; Experimental pharmacology. 

CHAPTER 3 

Poisonous Fungi and other Spore-bearing Plants 28 

Poisonous Fungi; Golden-rod rust; Amanita muscaria; Amanita phalloides 
General Considerations; Groups of poisonous Fungi; Bibliography; Laboratory 
work. 

CHAPTER 4 

Gymnospermous Poisonous Plants 42 

Yew; Common juniper; Red cedar; Bibliography. 

CHAPTER s 

MONOCOTYLEDONOUS PoiSONOUS PLANTS 45 

Fodder or silage poisoning; Pellagra; Darnel; Death camas; Stagger-grass; 
White hellebore; Lily of the valley; Meadow saffron; Red root; Lady slipper 
orchid; Bibliography; Laboratory work. 

CHAPTER 6 

Dicotyledons as Poisonous Plants 55 

Poke; Corn cockle; Aconite; Buttercup; Larkspurs; Marsh marigold; May- 
apple; Celandine; Poppies; Wild black cherry; Bibliography; Laboratory 
work. 



Xii CONTENTS 

CHAPTER 7 

Page 

Loco Wkeds and othkr Poisonous Plants 70 

Black locust; Broom; Burma bean; Lupines; Stemless loco weed; Wooly loco 
weed; Rattleweed; Loco weeds in general; Rattlebox; Box; Spurges; Castor oil 
plant; Poison ivy; Bibliography; Laboratory work. 

CHAPTER 8 

Miscellaneous Dicotyledonous Plants S6 

St. John's wort; English ivy; Water hemlock; Poison hemlock; Death of So- 
crates; Lambkill; Calico-bush; Stagger-bush; Great laurel; Chinese primrose; 
Privet; Bibliography; Laboratory work. 

CHAPTER 9 

Principally Solanaceous and Compositous Plants 9<S 

Oleander; Whorled milkweed; Thorn apple; Bittersweet; Garden nightshade; 
Potato; Sneeze-weed; White snakeroot; Ragwort; Hay-fever plants; Biblio- 
graphy; Laboratory work. 

CHAPTER 10 

Feeds and Feeding 117 

Chemical constituents; Nature of feeds; Digestion; Rations; Digestibility of 
animal foods; Nutritive ratios; Energy of food; Bibliography. 

CHAPTER II 

The Structure AND General Economic Importance OF Grasses 122 

Structure; Economic uses of grasses; Bibliography; Laboratory work. 

CHAPTER 12 

Description of Important Grass Forage Plants 133 

Timothy; Kentucky blue grass; Red top; Orchard grass; Meadow foxtail; 
Smooth brome grass; Blue-joint grass; Fescue grasses; Sweet vernal grass; 
Perennial rye grass; Marram grass; Seaside oats; Bermuda grass; Johnson 
grass; Guinea grass; Grama grass; Buffalo grass; Short grass vegetation; 
Bibliography; Laboratory work. 

CHAPTER 13 

The Most Important American Cereals 155 

Maize; Oats; Wheat; Barley; Rye; Rice; Buckwheat; Bil)li<)graphy; Labora- 
tory work. 

CHAPTER 14 

General Characteristics of the Leguminos/e i8i 

Structure; Economic plants; Bibliography; Laboratory work. 



CONTENTS XUl 

CHArTER IS 

Page 

The Forage Plants of the Family Leguminos.e 187 

Alfalfa; Red clover; Alsike clover; Crimson clover; White clover; Sweet 
clover; Field pea; Cowpea; Soy; Peanut; Miscellaneous leguminous forage 
plants; Miscellaneous forage plants; Bibliography; Laboratory work. 

CHAPTER 16 

Leguminous Root Tubercles and the Accumulation of Nitrogen; Nitrogen- 
consuming Plants 218 

Loss of soil nitrogen; Nitrification; Nitrogen-storing plants; Types of legu- 
minous nodules; Leaf nodules of Rubiacese; Use of green manures; Encourage- 
ment of leguminous crops; Microbe-seeding; Nitrogen-consuming plants (Root 
crops, bulb crops, stem crops, leaf crops, flower crops, fruit crops, cereal crops, 
seed crops); Bibliography; Laboratory work. 

CHAPTER 17 

Weeds and Weed Control 241 

Definitions; Injurious nature of weeds; Introduction and distribution; Means 
of distribution; Lines of travel; Special weed examples; Classification of weeds; 
Destruction; Weed legislation; Bibliography; Laboratory work. 

CHAPTER 18 

Agricultural Seeds, Seed Selection and Testing 259 

General Considerations; History; Apparatus for seed testing; Purity tests; 
Germination tests; Practical seed testing; Means of detecting source of seeds; 
Number of seeds; Bibliography; Laboratory work. 

Glossary and Index 273 



CHAPTER I 
STOCK-KILLING PLANTS 

The injurious plants of country and farm may be divided for conven- 
ience of treatment into those which cause physical injuries to animals 
and to man in a mechanical way and into those which cause injury, disease, 
or death by some deleterious, or poisonous substance possessed by the 
plant. The former have been termed stock-killing plants and the latter 
poisonous plants. There is no sharp demarcation between the two kinds 
of plants, but the distinction has proved to be a useful one. 

The first group includes those plants which are mainly harmful to 
cattle, causing serious troubles, which may result eventually in the death 
of the animal. This group includes a considerable number of species 
none of very close taxonomic relationship. The anatomical and mor- 
phological peculiarities upon which the injury depends are very diveise 
and consequently they become active in a great variety of ways. 

Aspergillus fumigatus. — This grayish-green mould fungus was first 
discovered by Fresenius in the bronchial tubes and air cavities of the 
bustard. The fungal herbage on culture media is greenish turning to gray 
and even to dirty brown. It is readily identified by the short conidio- 
phores (0.1-0.3 J^^^- long) with club-shaped extremity and simple upright 
sterigmata forming long chains of very small (2-3 n), globular conidio- 
spores. True perithecia are known with thin-skinned asci and light-red, 
lenticular, tough-skinned spores (4-4.5 ju) surrounded by a pale, radially 
striped, equatorial band. The fungus grows at a high optimum tempera- 
ture (about 40°C.) and hence is well adapted to thrive in living animals at 
blood temperature. 

Pathogenicity. — It causes pathogenic conditions in animals and man by 
growth in the lung tissue and in the air passages, where its presence causes 
difficulty of breathing and develops a toxin comparable to the toxins of the 
bacteria. Death may be caused by the filling of the air cavities which 
leads to the final asphyxiation of the host, as well, as to a generalized 
affection similar to hemorrhagic septicemia. It occurs in the human ear 
producing otomycosis, and in the bronchi (bronchomycosis), and in the 



2 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

lungs of birds, calves and man causing pneumomycosis. Pigeon-fatteners 
in Paris are men who feed thousands of young pigeons daily by filling their 
mouths with a mixture of grain and water, which they force into the 
mouths of the pigeons, much as the parent pigeons feed their young. 
These men suffer from aspergillosis, which is a pulmonary disorder re- 
sembling tuberculosis and occasionally fatal. 

Cases. — The most remarkable case was the presence of the fungus in 
the lungs of ^ calf, which had died of a form of pneumonia. An autopsy 
by Dr. M. P. Ravenel in which the writer participated revealed the pres- 
ence of lumps on the external surface of the calf's lungs. Celloidin 
sections of these pseudo-tubercular lesions mounted as double-stained 
microscopic preparations revealed the ramifications of the mycelium 
through the lung tissues and the emergence of the conidiophore with its 
mass of radiating spores extending into the cavities of the lungs from which 
by being coughed up in the sputum the conidiospores have been distrib- 
uted. Some few lung spaces had three large fruit-bodies of the fungus 
present, almost completely filling the cavity. 

Bromus tectomm. — The awned brome grass is a slender, eiect annual 
with narrow pubescent leaves and nodding panicles of spikelets. The 
lemmas of each floret are rough and hairy terminating in awns at least 
13-20 mm. long ()2~% inch). The flowers appear from June to August 
and in Utah and Colorado during this period it has become a serious pest. 
Its injurious effects are due to the mechanical presence under the teeth of 
the awned glumes where they cause inflammation and suppuration, 
the animals which have eaten the grass frequently losing their teeth as a 
consequence. 

Cenchrus tribuloides. — The sand bur is a grass common in sandy places 
and along railroads from Maine to Florida and in Texas, the Dakotas and 
California. The spikelets of this annual grass are surrounded by a spiny 
involucre which forms a hard, rigid bur with strong, barbed spines. The 
bur is readily detached from the plant and its spines enter the skin and 
flesh of animals, especially the lower part of the extremities, causing 
serious inflammation in man and the lower animals. 

Heteropogon contortus. — A grass native of New Caledonia is one 
which liores into the skin and intestines of the lower animals causing fatal 
inflammation and peritonitis. 



STOCK-KILLINa PLANTS 3 

Hordeum jubatum. — The squirrel-tail grass, or wild barley, is found 
widely distributed in North America being an annual, or a winter annual. 
The flowers are arranged in a dense spike, each consisting of a number of i- 
flowered spikelets, three occurring at each joint. The central spikelet has 
the perfect flower and produces one seed, while the lateral spikelets are 
reduced to awns and together with the subulate, rigid glumes and the awned 
lemma of the fertile flower simulate a bristly involucre at each joint of 
the rhachis. At maturity, the joints fall with the spikelets attached. 

It has been recognized for some time that the barbed spikelets of this 
species of Hordeum, along with perhaps two other species, act injuriously 
in a mechanical way, causing deep ulcerations, or sores, of the tongue and 
lips of cattle and horses with the awns buried deeply in the tissues. 
They are frequently found between the teeth, where they cause suppura- 
tion of the gums and ulceration of the bones of the jaw. 

Stipa capillata, S. comata, S. setigera, S. spartea. — The first species 
is indigenous to Russia; the second, known as needle grass, is distributed 
in western Iowa, Nebraska, Utah, Oregon, California and Arizona. The 
third species, known as porcupine grass, is widely distributed in western 
North America, while 5. setigera is found in Uruguay and other South 
American countries. The species of Stipa are perennial grasses with i- 
flowered spikelets with bristle-tipped glumes. The lemmas are hard, 
terminating in a twisted awn, and these lemmas tightly inclose the seed 
at maturity. This twisted awn is very hygroscopic, twisting up in dry 
weather, and untwisting, when the air is moist. When such an awn with 
its pointed, hard, sharp point below becomes entangled in the wool of sheep 
the pointed fruit by the gimlet-like motion of its spirally twisted, some- 
times feathery awn bores into the skin and the flesh of the animal by the 
hygroscopic movements of the awn. The entrance of a large number of 
these barbs into the skin and underlying tissues produce an inflammation 
that is sometimes followed by the death of the animal. The Uruguayan 
species {S. setigera) injures the eyes of sheep, producing intense keratitis 
often followed by inflammation of the cornea and ultimate blindness, so 
that the sheep, thus injured, are unable to find their food and die of starva- 
tion and thirst. 

Aegagropilae and Phytobezoars. — These two words connote the same 
idea as that of hair balls. An aegagropila is a hair ball found in the 
stomach and intestines of some ruminants, as the goat alyaypos, the wild 
goatH- pila, a ball), formed by the goat, or other animal licking the hair 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



ofif from the breast and f orelimbs and swallowing it, so that in the stomach 
and intestines it is rolled into a large ball the size of the fist. These balls 
may cause the death of the animal in which they form by a stoppage of 
the bowels. The same word _^has been appUed by extension of the idea 
to the balls of seaweed found on the Mediterranean Coasts. The Ligu- 
rian grass-wrack, Fosidonia oceanica, is found in the bay between the old 

town of Antibes and the projecting 
Cap in such great quantities that the 
shore is heaped high with its torn off 
leaves. To the west of the Cap, on 
the san(^s of the GoKe Jouan, round 
balls of a light brown color and fibrous 
structure are often found. These used 
to be seen in chemists' shops under the 
name of "pilae marinae. " They are 
loose pieces of the rootstock of Posi- 
donia covered with the frayed remains 
of leaves. These are tossed about on 
the beach by the waves until they are 
formed into balls (aegagropilae, phyto- 
bezoars), a decimetre in circumference. 
A bezoar (or where caused by plant 
materials, a phytobezoar) is a concre- 
tion found in the digestive tract of 
ruminants and formerly supposed to 
be eflicacious in preventing the fatal 

Fig. I. — Details of the flower of the efifectS of poisons and Still held in re- 
crimson clover (Trifolium incarnalum). . • . . • u iT_ 

A. Hairy calyx with withered corolla; P^te m eastern countries, hence the 

B, calyx opened out; c, one of the derivation of the word from the Persian 

shorter hairs of the calyx; D, standard; n j 7 / i ^^• 1 i, 

JS. wing petals; F. keel petals. 'Podzahr (pad, expelhng -f- zahr, 

poison) becoming in Arabic badizahr, 
bazahr and in new Latin bezoar. 

Clover Hair Balls. — Since 1895, when Dr. F. V. Coville described the 
result of cattle eating the crimson clover, Trifolium incarnatum, when in 
the flowering condition, a large number of cases of the death of animals 
by the formation of crimson clover phytobezoars have been reported. 
The earlier evidence recorded by Coville in his bulletin is given herewith. 
Mr. William P. Corsa forwarded to the Department of Agriculture a* ball 




STOCK-KILLING PLANTS 



of peculiar appearance, stating that it had been taken from the stomach of 
the horse belonging to Joseph W. Messick of Milford, Del., which had 
been eating crimson clover, and the death of which was ascribed to the 
ball formed from the branched hairs and fibers of the calyces of the crim- 
son clover flowers (Fig. i). Another man, Mr. Alexander Ryan, a few 
days before the above report had been filed, had lost a horse from which 
two similar balls had been taken. Later another letter from an entirely 




-^•'''riT|mrTTrrrfflf|Tp 



Fig. 2. — Crimson- 111 i.iv riair balls taken from horses which had died from the 
presence of these masses in the ahmentary tracts. The larger one is the largest of six 
taken from a horse which had been fed on crimson-clover hay for 12 years before his 
death. Horses have died within a few months after commencing to eat crimson clover. 
The smaller hair ball is as large as a regulation baseball. {After Westgale. J. M.: Crim- 
son clover: Utilization. Farmers' Bulletin, 579, 1914, p. 6.) 

d'fiferent locality, Kellar, Va., was received by the Department written by 
B. W. Mears & Son accompanied by a ball taken from the horse imme- 
diately after death. The statement was made that the horse had worked 
as usual without any signs of disease up to the time of its fatal illness which 
lasted five hours with sharp pain before death. Another ball, similar to 
that taken from the stomach, was found in the large intestine. Several 
other horses in the vicinity had died the preceding week, all apparently 



6 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

from the same cause, and ihe farmers had ascribed it to the feeding of 
crimson clover. Another case was reported in the summer of 1895 by 
Dr. Charles F. Dawson of Washington, who received from a veterinary 
surgeon of Raleigh, N. C, three balls which he had removed from the 
intestine of a horse after death. The personal acquaintance of the writer 
with crimson clover phytobezoars happened some years later when his 
attention was called to the death of six horses near Westville, N. J. with 
the receipt of two large balls sent as museum specimens by a former stud- 
ent, a practicing veterinarian. A ball in the possession of the writer 
taken from a horse at Oxford, Penna, is about the size of a fist. Coville 
states that they are nearly spheric and measure from three to four and one- 
half inches in diameter. The stiff, bristly calyx hairs are matted together 
and are cemented to some extent by the mucus derived from the digestive 
tract of the animal in which they form (Fig. 2). 

Cactus Spine Balls. — Prof. William Trelease reported in 1897 a still 
more interesting phytobezoar. "In January, 1897, Dr. Francis Eschan- 
zier of San Luis Potosi, Mexico, sent to me two specimens, one a ball of 
surprising accuracy of surface, measuring a little over three and one-half 
inches in diameter, and weighing seven and one-half ounces, and the other, 
one-half of a similar ball, about four inches in diameter, and weighing 
about four ounces, stating that sixteen such balls had been taken from 
the stomach of a bull at the Hacienda de Cruzes, and adding that he 
believed them to be composed entirely of an agglomeration of the fibres 
of some cacti, an undigested portion of which formed the nucleus." 
Inspection of the balls by Prof. Trelease proved this supposition to have 
been the correct one. The specimens were of a brown color, and consist- 
ed of the barbed hairs with which the mamillae of the Platopuntias are 
armed. In the West and Southwest, where one of the opuntias with long 
spines is fed to cattle {Opuntia Engelmanni) , it is customary to remove 
the long spines by the use of fire, but this does not entirely remove the 
danger of their use. The late Dr. Vasey of the U. S. Department of 
Agriculture gives a number of instances in which cattle have died from 
an accumulation of spines in the mouth and stomach. 

Leaf Hairs of Plane Trees.^ — Dioscorides and Galen, two early Greek 
physicians, called attention to the injurious effects of the hairs found on 
newly expanded leaves of plane trees (Plalanus) and on the surface of 
the ball-like clusters of pistillate flowers. These hairs, which fall off in 
great numbers, in the spring of the year, if inhaled, produce inflamma- 



STOCK-KILLING PLANTS 7 

tion of the nose and throat. Severe coughs are the result of the inhalation 
and accumulation of the star-like hairs in the respiratory passages. See 
Gardeners' Chronicle 3d. Ser. Ill, 370, March 24, 1888. 

Bibliography 

Brixton, N. L. and Brown, Addison: An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United 
States, Canada and the British Possessions, second edition, volumes I and II. 
Genera Bromus, Cenchrus, Hordeiim, Stipa, Trifolium. 

CoviLLE, F. v.: Crimson Clover Hair-balls, Circular No. 8, Div. of Botany, U. S. De- 
partment of Agriculture, June 15, 1895. 

Harshberger, John W. : A Review of Our Knowledge of Phytobezoars. The Journal 
of Comparative Medicine and Veterinary Archives, xLx, 143, March, 1898. 

Kerner von Marilaun, Anton and Oliver, F. W. : The Natural History of Plants. 
Half Volume II, 616-620. 

Pammel, L. H. : A Manual of Poisonous Plants. Part II, 191 1, pages 262-266; 336-369. 

Pearson, Leonard and Ravenel, M. P.: A Case of Pneumonomycosis Due to Asper- 
gillus Fumigatus. University Medical Magazine, August, 1900. 

Robinson, B. L. and Fernald, M. L.: A Handbook of the Flowering Plants and Ferns 
of the Central and Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. (Gray's 
New Manual of Botany, 7th edit., 1908.) Same genera as in Britton and 
Brown. 

Strasburger, Edward: Rambles on the Riviera. English translation by O. and B. C. 
Casey, 1906, 411-412. 

Trelease, William: Cactus Hair Balls. Transactions of the Academy of Science of 
St. Louis, vii, 493, Nov. 30, 1897. 

Laboratory Work 

Suggestions to Teachers. — Cultures of Aspergillus fumigalus should be kept on 
nutrient agars in test tubes as stock material. Fresh transfers of this fungus should 
be made at least once every two months throughout the year. Such stock material, 
allowing sufficient time for new growth to take place after inoculation of fresh agar, 
can be kept conveniently in the ice box, or refrigerating plant, of the laboratory. When 
the culture is used for laboratory study by the class, transfers should be made to slices 
of wet bread fitted into Petri dishes and sterilized in the autoclave before use. Asper- 
gillus fuviigatus makes a rapid growth on the surface of the bread and is removed 
easily for examination by the menibers of the botanical class. 

Dried specimens of the injurious higher plants should be kept between folded news- 
papers, having been collected for the purpose during the growing and flowering season. 
Some of the material at the discretion of the teacher can be preserved in alcohol, or 
formalin. A number of hair balls should be kept on hand for the lecture table and for 
detailed study by the class. 



8 pastoral and agricultural notany 

Laboratory Exercises 

1. Remove some of the mycelium with the conidiophores of ^5/»ergi7/tt5/Mmiga/Mi 
from the surface of the bread in the Petri dishes with a pair of smooth forceps. Place 
on a slide in 50 per cent, alcohol, so as to wet the hypha;. Drain off the alcohol and 
mount in acetic acid (2 per cent.), applying a ring of asphaltum. Study and draw. 

2. Study and draw the awned brome grass, Bromus Icclornm, and dissect out the 
parts which collectively become injurious to animals. 

3. Do the same for the sand bur, Ccuchrus irihuloides, and the squirrel grass, 
Hordeum jubaium. 

4. Compare the three, or four, species of feather grass, SHpa capillala, S. comala, 
S. sparlea and make detailed drawings of the spikelets with attached spirally twisted 
awns. 

5. Macerate portions of the crimson clover hair balls in potassium hydroxide dis- 
solved in water in a porcelain evaporating dish over the Bunsen burner flame. Com- 
pare the parts thus released with the hairs on the calyces of crimson clover flowers 
preserved in alcohol. Draw the material from the two sources for comparison. 

6. Remove the hairs from the leaves of plane trees and study under the microscope. 
A supply of the leaves for this purpose should be gathered in the spring. Young leaves 
of plane trees should be preserved in alcohol for later class study. 



CHAPTER 2 
POISONING BY PLANTS. GENERAL PRINCIPLES 

Poisonous plants are those which contain some deleterious or toxic 
substance, which injures health, causes intoxication,^ lowers the physical 
and mental tone, produces at times convulsions and in many cases results 
in the death of the victim. 

The classification of poisons has been attempted by a number of toxi- 
cologists. While their classifications are a scientific attempt at arranging 
the facts known about poisonous substances, they are only approximations. 
Much remains to be done along the Hnes opened up by modern chemistry, 
physiology and toxicology. Blyth gave one of the earlier and simpler of 
the classifications proposed for poisons. 

Blyth's Classification of Poisons. 

A. Poisons causing death immediately, or in a few minutes. 

Prussic acid, strychnin. 

B. Irritant Poisons. Symptoms mainly pain, vomiting and purging. 

Savin, ergot, digitahs, colchicum, yew, laburnum. 

C. Narcotic and Irritant Poisons. Symptoms of an irritant nature, 
with more or less cerebral indications. 

Oxalic acid, or oxalates. 

D. Poison more especially afifecting the nervous system. 

1. Narcotics. Chief Symptoms : insensibihty which may be preceded 

by more or less cerebral excitement. Opium. 

2. Deliriants. With delirium as a prominent symptom: Bella- 

donna, hyoscyamus, stramonium and other Solanaceae, poison- 
ous fungi, Indian hemp, darnel, etc. 

3. Convulsives. Alkaloids of the strychnin class. 

4. Nervous phenomena of complex character. Aconite, digitalis, 

poison hemlock, curare. 

Koberfs Classification of Poisons. — The writer has used this classi- 
fication of Kobert for a number of years in his exposition of the subject 
of poisonous plants at the University of Pennsylvania. It is a useful one 
in emphasizing the organs of the animal affected by poisons. 

^ Not used in sense of drunkenness, as after an alcoholic debauch. 



lO PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

T. Poisons which Cause Gross Anatomic Changes of the Organs. 

A. Those which act as irritants. 

I. Acids; (2) Caustic alkaHs; (3) Caustic salts; (4) Locally irritating 
substances such as cotton oil and savin; (5) Gases and vapors 
which cause local irritation when breathed, as chlorine. 

B. Those with little local effect, but alter other parts of the anatomic 

structure, as lead and phosphorus. 
IT. Blood Poisons. 

1. Those which interefere in physical manner with the circulation, 

as: ricin, abrin. 

2. Poisons which have the property of dissolving the red corpus- 

cles, as saponin. 

3. Poisons which with or without solution of the red corpuscles 

produce methaemoglobin, as picric acid. 

4. Poisons which have a peculiar action on the coloring matter of 

the blood, or on its products of decomposition, such as carbon 
monoxide. 

III. Poisons which Kill without Anatomic Change. 

1. Cerebro-spinal poisons, as cocaine, atropin, morphin, nicotin, 

coniin, aconitin, strychnin, etc. 

2. Heart poisons, as digitalis, helleborin, muscarin. 

IV. Poisonous Product of Tissue Change. 

1. Poisonous albumin. 

2. Poisons formed in foods. 

3. Auto-poisoning, as uraemia. 

4. Products of tissue change, as ptomaines, etc. 

Bernhard H. Smith's Classification of Poisons. — This is one of the 
most complete classifications proposed, and is adopted by L. H. Pammel 
in his Manual of Poisonous Plants (1910). 

The main facts of this classification without going into a consideration 
of the treatment which Pammel gives in his outline are as follows: 

Poisons Acting on the Brain 

I. Narcotics. 

Symptoms. — Giddiness; dimness of sight; contracted pupils; head- 
ache; noises in the ears; confusion of ideas, and drowsiness, passing into 
insensibility. 

Example. — Poppy {Pa paver somniferum). 



POISONING BY PLANTS. GENERAL PRINCIPLES II 

II. Deliriants. 

Symptoms. — Special illusions; delirium; diluted pupils; thirst and 
dryness of the mouth; occasionally, though rarely, paralysis and tetanoid 
spasms. 

Examples. — Thorn Apple {Datura Stramonium). Black Nightshade 
{Solaniim nigrum), Hemp {Cannabis saliva), Dsirnel {Lolium temulentum) 
and Fly Agaria {Amanita muscaria). 

III. Inebriants. 

Symptoms. — Excitement of cerebral functions, and of the circulation; 
loss of power of co-ordination, and of muscular movements, with double 
vision; leading to profound sleep, and deep coma. 

Examples. — Wormwood {Artemisia Absinthium), Jamaica Dogwood 
{Piscidia Erythrina) . 

Poisons Acting on the Spinal Cord 
Convulsives. 

Symptoms. — Clonic (intermittent) spasms, extending from above 
downwards. Opisthonas very violent; but trismus (lock-jaw) rare. 
Swallowing spasmodic. Death, usually, in less than three hours, or 
rapid recovery. 

Examples. — Nux vomica {Strychnos Nux-vomica), St. Ignatius's Bean 
{Strychnos Ignatii) . 

Poisons Acting on the Heart 

I. Depressants. 

Symptoms. — Vertigo; vomiting; abdominal pain; confused vision; 
convulsions; occasional delirium; paralysis; syncope; sometimes asphyxia. 

Examples. — Tobacco {Nicotiana Tabacum), Hemlock {Conium ma- 
culatum), Indian Tobacco {Lobelia inflata). 

II. Asthenics. 

Symptoms. — Numbness, and tingling in the mouth; abdominal pain; 
vertigo; vomiting; purging; tremor; occasional delirium; paralysis; 
dyspnoea, ending in syncope. 

Examples. — Aconite {Aconitum Napellus), Cohosh {Cimicifuga race- 
mosa), Oleander {Nerium oleander), Foxglove {Digitalis purpurea), 
White Hellebore {Veratrum album), Green Hellebore {Veratrum viride). 



12 pastoral and agricultural botany 

Vegetable Irritants 

I. Purgatives. 

Symptoms. — Abdominal pain; vomiting, and purging, cramps stran- 
gury and tenesmus, followed by collapse, and sometimes accompanied 
by drowsiness, and slight nervous symptoms. 

Examples. — Castor Bean {Ricinus communis), Green Hellebore 
{IJelleborus viridis), May Apple {Podophyllum peltakim), Marsh Marigold 
(Caltha palustris). 

II. Abortives. 

Symptoms. — Nausea; vomiting; stupor; sometimes tenesmus; abortion 
may or may not occur; coma. 

Example. — Ergot {Claviceps purpurea). 

III. Irritants with Nervous Symptoms. 

Symptoms. — Abdominal pain; vomiting and purging; dilated pupils; 
headache; tetanic spasms; occasional covulsions; sometimes rapid coma. 

Examples. — Indian Pink {Spigelia marilandica) Fool's Parsley (Aeth- 
usa Cynapium). 

IV. Simple Irritants. 

Symptoms. — Burning pain in the throat and stomach; thirst; nausea; 
vomiting; tenesmus; purging; dysuria; dyspnoea and cough occasionally, 
death through shock; convulsions; exhaustion; or starvation due to 
throat or stomach. 

Examples. — Bouncing Bet {Saponaria officinalis), Poison Ivy (Rhus 
Toxicodendron), Kinnikinnik (Arctostophylos Uva-ursi). 

V. Simple Irritants when Taken in Large Quantities. 
Symptoms. — Burning pain in throat and stomach. Vomiting; purg- 
ing; difficulty in swallowing. Recovery usual. 

Examples. — White Mustard {Brassica alba), Black Mustard {B. 
nigra), Black Pepper {Piper nigrum), Common Ginger {Zingiber offici- 
nalis). 

Conditions Influencing the Formation of Plant Poisons. — The com^ 
mercial study of drug plants in which the substances used as drugs are 
poisonous to. animals in uncontrolled doses has shown that the amount of 
poison found in the plant and its activity varies considerably. It has 
been found by a comparative study of the drug content of such plants and 
also by experimental investigation, that there are various conditions which 



POISONING BY PLANTS. GENERAL PRINCIPLES 1 3 

influence this variation. The following are some of the reasons for this 
difference in the amount and activity of the poison derived from the same 
species of plant. 

1. Glucoside Transformation. — It has been found that in some plants 
the poisonous substance does not exist in the plants themselves, but 
appears only when one substance in the plant comes in contact with and 
is acted upon by another substance which may be called the activator. 
This is illustrated in the leaves of_the wild black cherry, Prunus serotina, 
which do not contain any active poison until they become dried, when its 
glucoside substance, probably amygdalin, is acted upon by emulsin, 
an enzyme, and converted into the poisonous hydrocyanic, or prussic acid. 

2. Influence of Age of Plant. — The age of the plant materially influ- 
ences the virulence and the amount of poison present in the plant. Some- 
times a young plant is more actively poisonous than an old plant and vice 
versa. The death camas, Zygadenus venenosus, native of Montana and 
other western states is more poisonous before it comes into bloom. On 
the other hand, the seeds of the lupines (Lupinus) are the only parts of the 
plants positively known to be poisonous. 

3. Character of Organ. — Different organs of the same plant vary as to 
their content of poison. Some parts are inert, others are deleterious. 
The green leaves and stems of the common potato. Solatium tuberosum, 
are poisonous, especially when wilted, while the tubers form an everyday 
article of diet. The fruits of spotted cowbane, Conium maculatum 
and the seeds of Datura Stramonium, the thorn apple, are more poisonous 
than the foliage. 

4. Seasonal Variation Poisons. — There is a considerable variation in 
the amount of poisonous material produced in plants from season to season. 
Thus the mature bulbs of Colchicum contain a much larger amount of 
toxic substance than the growing bulbs. Miss Alice Henkel in a paper 
on "American Root Drugs" notes that the roots of the American 
hellebore, Veratrum viride, should be collected in the autumn after the 
leaves are dead. 

5. Influence of Climate. — Climate has a marked influence on the 
development of poisonous substances in plants. Dunstan has shown 
(Bui. Imp. Inst. 1905) that Hyoscyamus muticus grown in India yielded 
0.3 t00.4percent.0f hyoscyamin,but that the same species grown in Egypt 
produced 0.6 to 1.2 per cent. Esser states that no coniin is found in the 
spotted cowbane, Conium maculatum, in the far north. 



14 PASTORAL AND AtlKlCULTUKAL HOTANY 

6. Influence of Soil. — The soil has considerable influence on the 
amount of poisonous substance developed in plants. The trailing, 
yellowish-green form of poison ivy, Rhus radkans, found on the coastal 
sand dunes is less virulent than the climbing form found inland. This 
difference in the poisonous properties is to be attributed to growth on the 
barren sand of the sea coast. 

7. Influence of Cultivation. — Cultivation has a marked influence. 
In general, wild poisonous plants have larger amounts of alkaloids and 
glucosides than the same species when cultivated, although this does not 
always hold true. The wild forms of the Lima bean, Phaseolus lunatus, 
contains much more HCN than the cultivated forms. 

8. Variation in Amount of Poison. — The amount of poison contained 
in plants of the same species depend upon the race or variety of that 
particular species utilized for the extraction of the drug, or poison. Blyth 
records the following percentages of nicotin in various tobaccos as given by 
Cox (Pharm. Journ., Jan. 20, 1894). Syrian leaves (a) .612 per cent.; 
Syrian leaves (h) 1.093 per cent.; Gold Flake (Virginia) 2.501 per cent.; 
Navy Cut (light colored) 3.640 per cent.; Best Shag (b) 5.000 per cent.: 
Algerian tobacco (a) 8.813 per cent. 

9. Weather and Poisoning. — The state of the weather has consider- 
able elTect on the number of cases of poisoning among cattle on the free 
range. The death camas, Zygadenus venenosus, found in California, is 
a case in point. The bulbs of this plant are dangerous only after rains, 
since at other times, it is almost impossible for sheep to pull them out 
of the ground. Many serious cases of stock poisoning have occurred after 
late spring and early autumn snow storms, because the grasses and other 
low plants are covered with snow and only the taller plants remained 
visible and then were poisonous. 

10. Seasonal Distribution of Cases of Poisoning. — There are more 
cases of poisoning of stock in certain seasons of the year than others. 
Laurel, Kalmia latifolia, is more likely to be browsed in winter and 
early spring, because of its attractive, bright green color, when other 
plants are dormant. Cattle are more subject to loco disease in the 
spring, because the loco weeds become green early in the spring and are 
lirowscd upon hy animals while (he other green herbage is scarce a 1 this 
time of the year. 

11. Specific Differences of Animal Susceptibility. — The different kinds 
of live stock are affected quite differently by poisonous plants. Human 



POISONING BY PLANTS. GENERAL PRINCIPLES 1 5 

beings are most susceptible to the deadly night shade, Atropa Belladonna. 
The cat and dog are less susceptible. The horse is much less so, and the 
pig, goat, sheep and rabbit are little susceptible to poisoning, even on 
eating the root, the most poisonous part. 

12. Individual Susceptibility. — There is a difference in the individual 
susceptibility to poisons. The best illustration of this is the case of 
poison ivy producing the characteristic inflammation on fair persons with 
blue eyes (blondes), and the immunity of persons with dark, swarthy 
complexions (brunettes). This individual difference varies with the health 
of the animal, or man. The healthy individual having greater immunity 
than the one in a depleted condition. Animals familiar with certain 
ranges escape poisoning, while those not so familiar may be poisoned. 

13. Physical State of Animal. — The physical state of the animal, 
whether hungry, or well-fed, whether kept in confinement, or allowed the 
freedom of the open fields influences the number of cases of poisoning. 
When animals are hungry; or are turned out into the open fields after con- 
finement, they are more likely to eat of poisonous plants than otherwise. 
This has been shown recently in the case of laurel poisoning of heifers at 
Narberth, Pennsylvania. 

14. Animals with Depraved Appetite. — The animal may acquire a 
depraved appetite where it leaves off feeding on the nutritious pasture 
plants and takes to eating the deleterious ones. This happens with the 
loco weeds; when the depraved appetite of the animals leads them to eat 
only the plants which have induced the loco disease. 

15. Unpalatable Poisonous Plants.^ — Poisonous plants are frequently 
unpalatable and so are not usually eaten, but in dry spells, when other 
forage is scarce, they may be eaten with poisonous results. 

16. Secondary Fermentations in Fodders. — Perfectly wholesome fod- 
ders may become poisonous owing to secondary fermentations within them, 
as occurs sometimes in maize silage. 

17. Poisonous Plants as Impurities. — A perfectly harmless feed may 
become poisonous owing to the admixture of a poisonous plant, or plant 
part with it, as oats with corn cockle and barley with darnel. In Europe 
dry meadow-saffron may be included in hay. 

18. Removal of Animals to New Locality. — Farm stock reared in a 
locality where certain poisonous plants al)ound are much less likely to be 
poisoned by these plants than animals brought from a region where they 
Jo not occur. 



1 6 pastoral and agricultural botany 

Chemical Nature of Poisoning 

The modern chemical investigation of poisonous plants has resulted 
in the isolation of the active principles of many plants which have been 
determined to be nitrogenous substances of basic character, and to this 
class of substance the name of alkaloid has been given. It has been found 
also that all poisonous plants do not contain alkaloids, but in addition 
there are non-alkaloidal active principles, which include a large number 
of different types of chemical compounds, including the substances known 
as glucosides, which are readily hydrolyzed by dilute acids, or by ferments 
into a sugar and another constituent, which is generally physiologically 
active. The isolation of the active compounds has been of importance in 
determining the strength of the dosage of the drug, which could be safely 
administered to animals. The study of these actively poisonous substances 
led to various attempts at their production synthetically. Chemists 
owing to the backward condition of their science were unable to produce 
the complex active substances, but their study has led to the discovery 
of the portion of the molecule which produces the physiological effect 
and this has led to the discovery of simpler analogous compounds possessing 
the action of the drug, or poison. ' 

The discovery was made that the physiological action of the drug, or 
poison, was dependent in general on its chemical nature, although modified 
naturally by differences in physical properties such as solubility, volatility 
and the like. Thus, a very small change in the chemical constitution of a 
poison, is often accompanied by a complete change in its physiological 
action. There is often a great difference in the activity of stereo-isom- 
erides. In the case of optically active stereo-isomerides, we find marked 
differences in their physiological action. For example, atropin (racemic 
hyoscyamin) differs in some respects from /«w-hyoscyamin, and lavo- 
nicotin is twice as actively poisonous as the (/e.v/ro-variety. Adrenalin 
is a striking example, the natural lavo form being about eleven, or twelve 
times as active as the dextro. Derr/ro-asparagin is sweet. LcBvo-SLspsLra.- 
gin is tasteless. Unsaturated compounds are usually far more toxic 
than the corresponding saturated ones. Propyl alcohol, CH2 — CH2 — 
CH2 — OH, is a narcotic, causing intoxication, although not really poison- 
ous, whereas allyl alcohol, CH2 = CH — CHo — OH, is a strong poison, 
although not having narcotic action. The influence of increasing un- 
saturation is displayed in the graphic formulae below: from May's 
"The Chemistry of Synthetic Drugs," page 32. \ 



POISONING BY PLANTS. GENERAL PRINCIPLES 1 7 

CH3 CH2 — CH2 — OH , CH3 CH=CH2 



CH3— N CH3— N 



CHs OH CH3 OH 

Cholin (slightly toxic) Neurin (very toxio) 

CHs C=eH OH 

\/ / 

CH3— N (CH3)3^N 



CH3 OH CH2— CH=CH2 

Far more toxic than neurin A homologue of neurin only slightly poisonous 

The study of the physiologic action of ortho, meta, and para compounds 
has shown differences, such as that the para compounds are more poison- 
ous than the ortho, although occasionally the reverse is the case. An 
example of these differences may be cited. Saccharin, an orthocompound, 

I I NH is five hundred times sweeter than" sugar, while the 

\/\S02/^ 

corresponding para compound is without taste. 

The Organism and The Poisonous Substance 

Hydrolytic cleavages in the alimentary canal, more profound oxidation 
changes and sometimes reduction in the blood or tissues are chemical 
processes taking place in the organism. The sahva acts on few drugs, 
but in the stomach many drugs can be absorbed and where unpleasant by- 
effects are often manifested. This has led to the synthesis of new drugs 
which are not absorbed in the stomach. When the substances enter the 
intestine, they enter an alkaline medium and are acted upon by the 
pancreatic enzyme, trypsin, which hydrolyzes esters, anilides and similar 
bodies. The drugs are able to exert their specific action after saponifica- 
tion in the intestine and the pharmacologist recognizing this fact prepares 
derivatives the components of which would cause unpleasant effects on 
the stomach, but for the fact, that they are not decomposed in that organ, 
but are hydrolyzed in the intestine, where they can exert the desired result. 

The aliphatic hydrocarbons have narcotic properties, and these are 
increased by the introduction of an hydroxyl group to form alcohols. 
If more hydroxyl groups are introduced, as in glycerol, the narcotic action 
disappears, the hydroxyl merely playing the role of an " anchoring " 



1 8 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

group. The narcotic action of many substances on the other hand is 
associated with the presence of alkyl groups, especially ethyl groups. 
The alkyl group is the active portion of the molecule in the alcohols, and 
not the hydroxyl group. If halogen and especially chlorine replaces the 
hydrogen atoms in a hydrocarbon, the narcotic action is greatly increased. 
The presence of an ethyl group in a considerable number of compounds, 
gives to the substance the power of connecting with the nervous system. 
An excessively large dose of ethyl alcohol produces sleep, but a number 
of compounds with ethyl groups have been discovered which have a hyp- 
notic action in smaller doses. 

Alkaloids. — The alkaloids are not widely distributed in the vegetable 
kingdom. They are classified usually into five groups, as follows: (i) 
Pyridin Alkaloids, such as coniin from Conium maculatum, nicotin 
from Nicotina tabacum. (2) Pyrrolidin, Alkaloids. (3) Tropan Alkaloids, 
such as atropin from Atropa Belladonna. (4) Quinolin Alkaloids, as 
strychnin from Strychnos Nux-vomica. (5) Isoquinolin Alkaloids, as 
morphin. Four elements carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen enter 
into the formation of the alkaloid. A few contain no oxygen. Most are 
colorless crystalline solids, a few being liquid. Most are insoluble in 
water, but dissolve in ether, alcohol, chloroform. They have a bitter taste 
and have strong physiological, or toxic properties, even in small doses, 
and a slight alteration in molecular structure often produces a decided 
change in their physiological and toxic properties. For example, the 
reduction of the nitrogenous ring generally produces a marked increase 
in the toxicity and strength of the action of the poison and sorhetimes 
alters its character. Pyridin is non toxic and lowers blood pressure, but 
piperidin is very toxic and raises blood pressure. The size and position 
of the side chains attached to the ring have an important effect. Pyridin 
can by reduction yield more active substance by the entrance of aliphatic 
chains which is accompanied by the appearance of intoxicating action. 
The toxic action of piperidin itself, which is not very strong, is increased 
in a methyl piperidin and still more in a methyl piperidin and a-propyl- 
piperidin (coniin). The toxicity of these substances is in the ratio of 
1:2:4:8. 

Ptomaines. — The bacteria and certain fleshy fungi have associated 
with their activities a number of basic substances with simple constitution, 
such as methylamine CH3 NHo; dimethylamine, (CHs)^ NH; trimethy- 
lamine, (CH3)3 N; putrescin, NH2 (CHo)^ NH2; cadaverin, NH2 (CH2).. 



POISONING BY PLANTS. GENERAL PRINCIPLES 1 9 

NHo, and cholin, muscarin,neuriii which are much more complex. These 
substances are formed in decomposing flesh. Chohn and muscarin are 
found in the toad-stool, Amanita muscaria. Muscarin and neurin are both 
very poisonous, whereas cholin is slightly toxic. 

Cholin is found in the seeds and fruits of Pinus cemhra, nut of Areca- 
calechu, endosperm of coconut {Cocos nucifera) root of sweet flag Acorus- 
calamus, hop Humulus lupulus. Betain another member of the group 
occurs in the juice of the beet and in the tuber of Helianthus tuberosus. 
All these substances are strong bases and answer the general reactions for 
alkaloids. Immune substances are not produced for these chemical poi- 
sons as for the phytotoxins later described. 

Glucosides. These are chemical substances of considerable complexity 
and yield glucose on decomposition with one or more other compounds, 
usually of an aromatic nature. The reaction is mostly hydrolysis. For 
example, amygdalin is hydrolyzed by emulsin, an enzyme, to glucose, 
benzaldehyde and prussic acid. 

C20 H27, NOn + 2H2O = sCeHisOe + CeHjCHO + HCN. 

This reaction expresses that of the cyanogenetic glucosides or those 
which on hydrolysis yield hydrocyanic, or prussic acid, a deadly poison. 

Loew from the chemical standpoint states that all substances which 
are capable of acting on aldehyde or amino groups, even when in dilute 
solution, must be poisonous for living tissue on which they will exert a 
substituting action. The greater the reactivity of a substance for alde- 
hyde (CHO) or amino (NH2) groups, the greater will be its physiologic 
effect and its toxicity. 

Vegetable Toxins (Phytotoxins). — The production of substances 
possessing the essential features of the toxins is not limited entirely to 
the bacterial cell. They are found in the flowering plants and are called 
phytotoxins. The chief phytotoxins are abrin from the Job's tear plant 
Ahrus precatorius; crotin from the seeds of Croton tiglium; ricinfrom the 
castor-oil bean, Ruinus communis; robin from the leaves and bark of 
the black locust, Rohinia pseudacacia; phallin from the toad-stool Amanita 
phalloides, and the toxin causing hay-fever found in pollen grains. These 
substances are very similar, resembling proteins in many respects, for 
they can be salted out of solutions in definite portions of the precipitate, 
are precipitated by alcohol and are slowly destroyed by proteolytic 
enzymes. Recent work by Harris, Mendel and Osborne has shown 



20 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

that the toxic properties of ricin are associated inseparably with the co- 
agulable albumin of the castor beans, and were able to isolate this toxal- 
bumin in such purity that one one-thousandth of a milligram (o.oooooi 
gram) was fatal per kilo of rabbit and solutions of o.ooi per cent would 
agglutinate red corpuscles. The phytotoxins have been used extensively 
in the investigation of immunity, since they obey the same laws as bac- 
terial toxins. They seem to possess haptophore and toxophore groups 
and immunity is readily obtained against them. The immunity is speci- 
fic, ricin antitoxin, for example not protecting against abrin. 

Their poisonous action is manifested in agglutination of the erythro- 
cytes, local cellular destruction, and in hemolysis. Such toxalbumins 
as crotin and phallin are actively hemolytic, that is the hemoglobin escapes 
from the stroma of the blood corpuscles into the surrounding fluid. Ricin, 
abrin and robin are more marked by their agglutinating action, hemolysis 
being produced only by relatively large doses. They resemble the bac- 
terial toxins, in that immunity can be secured against them, and the 
immune serum will prevent their hemolytic action. The hemolytic, 
or agglutinating, action of these toxalbumins, except phallin,- is not de- 
stroyed by exposure to 65° to 7o°C. of heat, but ioo°C does destroy it. 
The action of these substances is not like that of the enzymes in being 
quantitative, a given amount acting on a given amount of corpuscles to 
which it is bound. 

Another quite distinct group of vegetable hemolyzing agents are the 
saponin substances closely related to the glucosides and found as strong 
protoplasmic as well as hemolytic poisons. They differ from the true 
toxins in being resistant to heat, having no resemblance to proteins and 
do not give rise to antibodies on immunization of animals. The degree of 
their toxicity is not directly proportional to their hemolytic activity for 
they seem to chiefly injure the nerve-cells. Apparently hemolysis is 
brought about by action on the lipoids of the red corpuscles, for addition 
of cholesterol to saponin prevents its hemolytic eflfect. Robert has 
shown that all cause hemolysis, some in dilutions as great as i : 100,000. 
The following are the most important members of this group: sapotoxin 
obtained from Quillaja, cyclamin from Cyclamen, solanin from members of 
the potato family, helvellic acid from fungus Helvella esculenta, phallin 
from toadstool, Amanita phalloides. 

Applicability of Ehrlich's Theories. — As the theory of Ehrlich is applic- 
able in the study of the activity of such toxins and the immunization of 



POISONING BY PLANTS. GENERAL PRINCIPLES 21 

animals, a brief statement of Ehrlich's views is given here. Ehrlich 
reasoned that if it is by the chemical side chains of the organic molecules 
that change in the chemical composition of toxic bodies is brought about 
then the living cell has side-arms or receptors of the cell molecule by which 
the haptophore (binding portion of the toxin molecule) fits ''like a key 
fits a lock." Each molecule of the animal cell has innumerable receptors 
of which only a certain number are suitable for the anchoring of the toxin 
molecule to the living cell. If only a few toxin molecules are united with 
the cell receptors then the toxin is of low toxicity and the effects on the 
cell will be slight, if more are anchored, the poisonous effects will be greater 
or entirely destructive to the cell. Regeneration of the receptors takes 
place, and if these are produced in such numbers by the activity of the 
antigen, or poison, they are crowded off and find their way into the blood 
serum, where they are capable of anchoring the toxin molecules as before 
and thus become the antibodies, or antitoxins, which finally bring about a 
neutralization of the toxin. The persistence of these antibodies (anti- 
toxins) in the animal system produces immunization. We may summarize 
Ehrlich's conception of the nature of toxins, as follows: Each molecule of 
toxin consists of a great number of organic complexes grouped as in 
organic compounds generally as side chains about a central radical, or 
ring. One or more of these complexes has a chemical affinity for certain 
chemical constituents of the tissues of animals susceptible to the toxin with 
which the toxin molecule reunites. The toxin molecule must contain two 
separate atom groups. One of these must possess the power of binding 
and be stable. This is the haptophore, or anchoring group. The other 
one by which the toxin' molecule exerts its deleterious action, must be 
more easily changed or destroyed. This is the toxophore, or poison 
group. An animal is susceptible to a toxin only when its cells contain 
receptive substances which possess a chemical affinity for the haptophore 
of the toxin molecule and also substances which can be influenced harm- 
fully by the toxophore of the same molecule. The nature of the changes 
brought about by the toxophore of the toxin molecule is not understood, 
but there are many resemblances to the action of enyzmes or ferments, 
but the analogy is not complete. We find the closest analogy to the enzy- 
mes in the toxic substances that destroy the bacteria and the red-blood 
corpuscles (b act erioly sins and hemolysins). 

The immunity against enzymes and toxic bodies seems to have an 
identical origin in the over production of the cellular receptors which bind 



22 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



the haptophore groups to the cells. These excessive receptors find their 
way into the blood where they combine with the enzyme, or toxin, so 
that it cannot enter into combination with the cells. To emphasize this 
point, the receptors eliminated by toxin absorption are not, therefore, 
simply reproduced in the same quantity in which they are lost, but 
are reproduced in excess of the simple physiological needs of the cell. 
Continuous and increasing dosage with the poison, consequently, soon 




m 


-TOXOPHORE 2 

X 




f 


'" HAPTOPHORE ^ K 
-RECEPTOR 2 a 


UJ 

q: 
O 

X 






a. 
o 

X 

o 



Pig. 3. — Diagram showing body cell molecule, cell receptors with linkage for toxin 
molecule with a binding group (haptophore) and a toxic group (toxophore). The 
receptors produced in excess by the stimulation of the body cell become the antitoxin 
molecules which are set free into the blood and then unite, as shown in the diagram, 
with the toxin molecules by means of their haptophores. The free antitoxin molecules 
thus unite with the poison molecules in the blood and thus protect the body cell«. 



leads to such excessive production of the particular receptive atom-groups 
that the cells involved in the process become overstocked and cast them 
off to circulate freely in the blood. These freely circulating receptor atom 
groups with specific affinity for the toxins used in their production repre- 
sent the antitoxins. These, by uniting with the poison before it can 
reach the sensitive cells, prevent its deleterious action (Fig. 3). The 
theory of Ehrlich, in brief, then, depends upon the assumptions that toxin 



POISONING BY PLANTS. GENERAL PRINCIPLES 23 

and antitoxin enter into chemical union, that each toxin possesses a specific 
atom group by means of which it is bound to a preexisting side chain of 
the affected cell, and that these side chains, under the influence of repeated 
toxin stimulation, are overproduced eventually and cast off by the cell 
into the circulation where they act as the antitoxin. 

The phytotoxins act directly with erythrocytes in a manner like saponin. 
They do not require the presence of amboceptors and complements as in 
serum hemolysis, but produce hemolysis directly. 

Bibliography 

Greene, Charles W. : Experimental Pharmacology. A Laboratory Guide. P. 

Blakiston's Son & Co., Philadelphia, 1909. 
HA.'iS, Paul and Hill, T. G. : An Introduction to the Chemistry of Plant Products. 

Longmans, Green and Co., second edition, London and New York, 191 7. 
Hiss, Philip H. and Zinsser, Hans: A Text-book of Bacteriology. D. Appleton and 

Co., New York, 1918. 
KoLMER, John A.: A Practical Text-book of Infection Immunity and Specific Therapy. 

W. B. Saunders Co., Phila., 191 7. 
Long, Harold C: Plants Poisonous to Live Stock. Cambridge: at the University 

Press, 191 7. 
Marshall, Charles E.: Microbiology. P. Blakiston's Son & Co., Philadelphia, 1911. 
May, Percy: The Chemistry of Synthetic Drugs. Longmans, Green and Co., New 

York, 191 1. 
Pammel, L. H. : a Manual of Poisonous Plants. The Torch Press, Cedar Rapids, 

Iowa, Part I, 1910. 
Pembray, U. S. and Phillips, C. D. F.: The Physiological Action of Drugs. Edward 

Arnold, London, 1901. 
Stitt, E. R.: Practical Bacteriology, Blood Work and Animal Parasitology. P. 

Blakiston's Son & Co., Philadelphia, 1914. 
Wells, H. Gideon: Chemical Pathology (second edition). W. B. Saunders Co., 

Philadelphia, 1914. 

Laboratory Work 

Suggestion to Teachers. — A supply of small animals can be kept in cages in the 
basement of the laboratory for the purpose of testing out the poisonous effect of various 
suspicious poisonous plants. White mice, whjte rats, guinea pigs, frogs and the like 
can be kept in captivity. Wild mice and rats caught alive in traps might also be 
used and the common kinds of pigeons. 

A supply of poisonous drugs (carefully safeguarded) should be kept and the various 
reagents used in testing them also. The laboratory should be equipped with the 
necessary glass ware, Bunsen burners and chemical apparatus for the use of the class. 



24 pastoral and agricultural botany 

Laboratory Exercises 

1. Place a thin transverse section of the endosperm of Strychnos Nux-vomicd on a 
slide and treat with a few drops of sulphuric acid, if strychnin is present there will 
be a red coloration of the cell-contents. Place a small crystal of potassium chromate 
beneath the cover-glass and a violet color will be produced. 

2. Place a thin transverse section of the rhizome of the monk's hood, Aconitum 
Napelhts, on a slide and treat with a few drops of 50 per cent, sulphuric acid. A carmine 
red coloration will appear and this is a specific reaction of aconitin found in the paren- 
chyma surrounding the vascular bundles. This reaction is more intense, if the sections 
have been previously warmed in a sucrose solution. 

3. The presence of cyanogenetic glucosides may be detected as follows: Crush the 
part of the plant in water and set aside for some time, then filter and add to the 
filtrate a little silver nitrate. If hydrocyanic acid is present a white precipitate is 
formed. 

4. Place thick sections of the plant tissue to be examined in a 5 per cent, alcoholic 
solution of potash for about a minute then transfer to a solution containing 2.5 per 
cent, ferrous sulphate and i per cent, ferric chloride and keep at about 6o°C. for ten 
minutes. Then treat the section with dilute hydrochloric acid (one part strong acid 
to six parts of water) for five to fifteen minutes, if hydrocyanic acid is present a blue 
precipitate of Prussian blue appears. 

5. Guignard's test may be used as an alternative with four. White filter-paper is 
dipped in a I per cent, solution of picric acid and dried. When ready to be used moisten 
the treated papers with a 10 per cent, solution of sodium carbonate and again dry. 
These test papers should be kept in stoppered bottles. Exposed to the fumes of hydro- 
cyanic acid the paper rapidly changes to an orange-red color as the test is a delicate 
one. 

Experimental Pharmacoiogy 

Experiments on the Action of Veratrin (See Greene, Charles Wilson, Experimental 
Pharmacology. A Laboratory Guide for the Study of the Physiological Action of 
Drugs, third edition, P. Blakiston's Son & Co., 1909, page 50 and fig. on page 51. This 
book may be taken as a guide in such experiments. As the time for this course is 
limited such experimental work should be performed as a class demonstration by the 
professor and his assistant, rather than as individual student exercises. The work 
below should be performed as a sample. 

1. Veratrin on the frog. The dose for a frog is about 0.5 c.c. of a 1 per cent, solution 
of the fluid extract of Veralrum viride, or 0.3 c.c. of o.oi per cent, veratrin. Compare 
with the effects of aconite and barium. See experiment 4. 

2. Veratrin on the mammal. Give a cat or rabbit i c.c. of o.i per cent, veratrin 
hypodermically, or i c.c. of i per cent, for a dog. Keep under observation for a con- 
siderable time. 

3. Veratrin on the heart strip. Subject the contracting strip of ventricle to 0.005 
to 0.05 per cent, veratrin in saline. 



POISONING BY PLANTS. GENERAL PRINCIPLES 



25 



4. Veratrin on the frog's heart. Pith a frog, expose the heart and take a tracing 
,vhen perfused with 0.005 per cent, veratrin in Ringer's solution (o.oi per cent, destroys 
;oordination). 

5. Veratrin on the isolated mammalian heart. Prepare the apparatus for the 
solated heart experiment, isolate a cat's heart and perfuse with 0.0002 per cent, veratrin 
n Locke-blood solution. See Figs. 4, 5, 6. 

6. Veratrin on the simple muscle contraction of the frog. Ligate one leg of a 
frog and give a hypodermic of 0.05 c.c. of o.i per cent, veratrin. After 15 minutes 




Fig. 4. — Apparatus as set up to demonstrate the contractions of the apex muscle 
of terrapin's ventricle. The glass L-shaped holder should be set on the stand high 
enough to allow of easy change of solution tubes. The figure shows the tube of physio- 
logical saline and other details for the better illustration of the mounting of the heart 
strip. (Greene). 



prepare the veratrinized muscle and take simple muscle contractions to show the form 
of the contraction wave, using a tuning fork to record the drum speed. Compare this 
curve with that of the undrugged muscle. 

The frog of experiment i may be used to show the veratrin effect on muscle work. 
Stimulate once in three seconds in this experiment, since the relaxation may not be 
complete in an interval of two seconds. 

7. Veratrin on the circulation and respiratiomof a mammal. Take a record of the 
blood-pressure from the carotid of an anesthetized dog. Tracheotomize and take 
respiratory tracings. Give i c.c. of i per cent, veratrin in the abdominal cavit3\ 
When marked cardiac slowing appears cut the vagi and note the effects on the heart. 



26 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 




Fig. 5. — The terrapin's heart, ventral view, showing how to cut an apex strip for 
experimental purposes and how to split this apex into smaller pieces. (Greene.) 




Fig. 6. — Experiment showing the action of digitalis on the rhythm and tone of a 
strip of terrapin's ventricle. The strip was contracting in physiological saline. Be- 
tween the words "on" and "off" it was subjected to 0.06 per cent, of digitalis in saline. 
(Greene.) 



POISONING BY PLANTS. GENERAL PRINCIPLES 27 

8. See KoLMER, John A. : A Practical Text-book of Infection, Immunity and Specific 
Therapy. Philadelphia, W. B. Saunders Company (second edition), 191 7, page 898, 
for the following experiment with phyto toxins: Prepare a i per cent, suspension of 
washed rabbit and guinea-pig corpuscles. Into a series of six small test-tubes place 
increasing doses of ricin or abrin solution as follows: o.i, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, and 0.8 c.c. 
Add I c.c. of rabbit-cell emulsion to each and sufficient normal salt solution to make 
the total volume in each tube equal to 2 c.c. A seventh tube is the corpuscle control 
and contains i c.c. of the erythrocyte suspension and i c.c. of salt solution. Prepare 
a similar series of tubes with the guinea-pig erythrocyte suspension. Shake the tubes 
gently and incubate for two hours. 

Queries. — Do any of the tubes show hemolysis or hemagglutination? Is the action 
the same with both bloods? Does the plant toxin show a selective affinity? 



CHAPTER 3 
POISONOUS FUNGI AND OTHER SPORE-BEARING PLANTS 

This chapter will deal with the poisonous character of the lower plants, 
those which form spores instead of true seeds. The bacteria, such as 
the organisms which produce anthrax and glanders, are not included, 
because the study of their pathogenicity is elaborated in various works 
on bacteriology and they are considered as a special phase of medical 
research requiring an elaborate technique. There are a number of fungi, 
such as corn smut, Ustilago Zece, reputed to be poisonous to stock, but such 
belief needs confirmation. The following fungi have been studied thor- 
oughly and there can be no doubt as to their poisonous action. 

Ergot (Claviceps purpurea). — The ergot fungus is found on rye both in 
America and Europe, where during wet, warm weather it may be extremely 
prevalent. It gains entrance to the host at the base of the young ovary 
penetrating the ovary wall and gradually replacing the tissues of the rye 
ovary. This is accompanied by an enlargement of the ovary, which at 
its upper end presents a somewhat spongy character. This is due to the 
outgrowth of the mycelium in the form of twisted strands, the marginal 
hyphae of which acting as conidiophores abstrict off conidiospores. This 
early stage was known as the Sphacelia stage. Later, as the time for the 
maturing of the healthy grains arrives the diseased ovaries will be found 
to be replaced by bluish-black , horn-like bodies which project conspicuously 
from between the glumes of the rye spikelet. The rye ovary is replaced 
by a hard body with blackish surface and white interior known as the 
sclerotium. The ergot spurs, or sclerotia, perennate as such until the 
following spring, when they send up one or several outgrowths, or stroma, 
with a knob-like end of a yellowislybrown color. In the hyphal tissue, 
which comprises the knob-like portion of the stroma, flask-shaped peri- 
thecia are formed with short necks and slightly protruding ostioles. The 
asci contained in these perithecia are elongated and contain eight needle- 
shaped ascospores, which measure 60 to 70/i in length, and issue from the 
tip of the ascus by a small opening. These ascospores bud off condio- 

28 



POISONOUS FUNGI AND OTHER SPORE -BEARING PLANTS 



29 



spores, which are capable of infecting the ovaries of rye plants, which 
have started their growth toward maturity the following season. 

Chemical Nature of Ergot. — The ergot spurs are used medicinally 
under police regulations, for they are dangerous and poisonous. Ergot 
contains 0.20 to 0.25 per cent, of ergotinin, as an amorphous compound, 
and the physiologically active alkaloid ergotoxin or hydroergotinin 
(C35H41O6N5). When taken in sufficient amounts ergot causes serious 




Pig. 7. — Calf No. 2 after being fed diseased "paspalum" hcaii m. -lays. Note 
stiff appearance with legs rather wide apart to assist in standing. {After Brown, H. B. 
and Ranck, E. M.: Forage poisoning due to Claviceps Paspali on Paspalum. Technical 
Bulletin No. 6, Mississippi Agricultural Experiment Station, 1915, p. 21.) 

poisoning of the domestic animals and man. Extensive outbreaks of 
ergotism have occurred in the United States. In the Baltic provinces of 
Germany and Russia, the peasants frequently eat bread made out of 
flour in which ergot spurs have been ground. They suffer from gangrenous 
affections of the extremities with a loss of the hair, teeth and finger nails. 
A nervous form of ergotism has also been prevalent. Cattle eating ergoted 
grain show similar gangrenous and nervous symptoms, the loss of hoofs, 
tails and horns. Ergot can be controlled to some extent by the selection 



30 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



of the grain seed and the removal of all ergoted masses, when detected 
in the fields. 

A closely related species, Claviceps microcephala, was submitted to 
the writer by the late Dr. Leonard Pearson on red-top hay in 1902, which 
had been responsible for gangrenous affection of a herd of cattle at Scran- 
ton, Pennsylvania. Claviceps paspali, found on grains of Paspalum in 




Fig. 8. — Calf No. 2. This pieiure shows animal in stage of excitement during 
which it cannot remain on its feet. Note peculiar expression of eyes, also the chin 
resting on the ground to help maintain position. All that was necessary to cause the 
animal to assume this position was to clap the hands and jump toward it. The nervous 
paroxysm would immediately come on and last one or two minutes. (After Brown, 
H. B. and Ranck, E. M.: Forage poisoning due to Claviceps Paspali on Paspalum. 
Technical Bulletin No. 6, Mississippi Agricultural Experiment Station. 1915, p. 22.) 



Maryland on P. lave, according to J. B. S. Norton, is responsible for the 
poisoning of cattle in Maryland and Mississippi (Figs. 7, 8, 9, 10). 

Symptoms. — The detailed symptoms, as gathered from various sources, 
are the following: Symptoms referable to the digestive tract such as 
nausea vomiting, colic, diarrhcea or constipation occur in both the nervous 
(spasmodic) and gangrenous forms of ergotism. Pregnant animals very 
frequently abort. In the spasmodic form of the disease, there is an over 



POISONOUS FUNGI AND OTHER SPORE-BEARING PLANTS 



31 



stimulation of the central nervous system. There is a tonic contraction 
of the flexor tendons of the limbs, anaesthesia of the extremities, muscular 
trembling, general tetanic spasms, convulsions and delirium. Death 
usually occurs from secondary causes. 

The gangrenous type of the disease is marked by coldness and anae^ 
thesia of the extremities succeeded by dry gangrene of these parts with 
loss of the feet, tips of the ears, dropping of the tail, shedding of the hair 




Pig. 9. — Calf No. 2. Note that the entire lower jaw, neck, and breast are used 
by the animal in maintaining this peculiar position. Note also that the eye is partially 
closed and drawn; this is very different from the first symptoms noticed. (After Brown, 
H. B. and Ranck, E. M.: Forage poisoning due to Claviceps Paspali on Paspalum. 
Technical Bulletin No. 6, Mississippi Agricultural Experiment Station, 1915, p. 24.) 



and teeth, etc. Exhaustion is the cause of death in this form of ergotism. 
Acute poisoning is characterized by profuse salivation, dilatation of the 
pupils of the eyes, rapid breathing and frequent pulse with vomiting (in 
dogs). The animal cries out, has twitchings of the convulsive sort, 
staggering gait, paraplegia, intense thirst and coma, followed by death. 

Golden-rod Rust {Coleosporium soHdaginis). — This fungus is found as 
a rusty outbreak on the leaves of various Compositae, such as Solidago 



32 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



canadensis, S. rigida, S. serotina and as Vernonia noveboracensis, the iron- 
weed. Horses have been poisoned in New Jersey and in Wisconsin by 
eating golden-rod and the trouble has been attributed to the presence of 
this rust fungus in growth on the plant. The disease has baffled veteri- 
narians, but the fact that horses have remained healthy when feeding 
in pastures without golden-rod, or when they are driven from pasture 
before the golden-rod appears seems significant. The attention of the 




Fig. 10. — Calf No. 2 prostrate. Note drawn expression of eyes and slight drawing 
back of head (aposthotonus). In this condition the animal breathes rapidly, shows 
consciousness, and responds to noise by twitching. (After Brown, H. B. and Ranck, E. 
M.: Forage poisoning due to Claviceps Paspali on Paspalum. Technical Bulletin No. 6, 
Mississippi Agricultural Experiment Station. 1915, p. 25.) 



writer was first called to this fungus in material received from Newfield, 
N. J., on Sept. 22, 1900. 

Symptoms. — The symptoms are general dullness, ears drooped, tem- 
perature elevated ranging from 103° to io7°F. during the entire course 
or the disease. The visible mucous membranes are pallid and spots are 
seen. The legs of the animal become swollen and oedematous enlarge- 
ments appear under the abdomen. The spleen is enlarged, weighing from 
xis to ten pounds. Blood disintegrated. The appetite is fairly good, but 
emaciation begins as the disease advances. There is loss of coordination 



POISONOUS FUNGI AND OTHER SPORE-BEARING PLANTS 



33 



and death takes place in from two weeks to two months from the onset 
of the disease. 

Description of Fungus. — The fungus is characterized, as follows: 
The uredosori are rounded, soon become powdery and scattered. The 
uredospores are orange colored produced in short chains. They are 
spherical, oblong or subcylindrical and spiny, 20-35 X 15-20/x. The 




Fig. II. — Amanita muscaria. {After Patterson, Flora W. and Charles, Vera K.: 
Mushrooms and other common fungi. Bull. 175, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 
1915. FJg. 3.) 

teliosori (teleutosori) are at first orange, later becoming red. They are 
flat, often confluent and form frequently waxy crusts. The teliospores 
(teleutospores) are cylindrical or somewhat clavate, generally four-celled, 
60-70 X 15-25)"- 

Fly Agaric, Fly Poison (Amanita muscaria = Venenarius muscarius) . 
This is a fleshy toadstool widely distributed in woods, the borders of 
woods and thickets in temperate regions, being especially abundant under 
and near pine trees. It is a striking plant and because of its showy char- 
acter and beauty additionally dangerous. Ite colors are paler in this 
country than in Europe. The cap, or pileus, is convex-globose, flattening 
out as it expands and from eight to twenty centimeters broad with a 
3 



34 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

slightly viscid surface when fresh and slightly striate margin. The color 
varies from red, or orange, to yellow and sprinkled with numerous whitish- 
yellow flakes. The gills, or lamellae, are white, rather broad, reaching the 
stalk or stipe and slightly decurrent upon it. The spores are white, sub- 
globose to ellipsoid 9-10 X 7-8/i. The stipe is stuffed, or hollow 
usually rough with scales and in color white, or pale yellow. The base 
of the stipe is bulbous and the white, or yellowish volva breaks up early 
so that it is rarely seen. The superior annulus is large, membranous, 
white and persistent (Fig. 11). 

Chemical Nature of Poison.^ — The fly agaric was so called because 
decoctions of it were used for killing flies. The active poisonous principle 
of chief interest in this fungus is an alkaloid muscarin, although Kobert 
finds two other alkaloids cholin and a third fungous atropin. Muscarin 
(HON (CH3)3CH2CH(OH)2) is a substance with tobacco-like odor and an 
extremely violent poison, .003 to .005 of a gram (.06 grain) being a very 
dangerous dose for a man. The amount of this poison varies with soil 
and climate. Cholin when oxidized is converted into muscarin, and if 
it is subject to bacterial decomposition, it is changed to neurin an ex- 
tremely poisonous base. Hence old, partially decomposed specimens of 
fly agaric are more actively poisonous than fresh ones. 

Symptoms. — V. K. Chestnut sums up the symptoms, as follows: 
"Vomiting and diarrhoea always occur, with a pronounced flow of saliva, 
suppression of the urine, and various cerebral phenomena beginning with 
giddiness, loss of confidence in one's ability to make ordinary movements, 
and derangements of vision. This is succeeded by stupor, cold sweats, and 
a very marked weakening of the heart's action. In cases of rapid recovery, 
the stupor is short and usually marked with mild delirium. In fatal cases, 
the stupor continues from one to two or three days, and death at last 
ensues from the gradual weakening and final stoppage of the heart's ac- 
tion." 

Treatment. — The preliminary treatment should be the administration 
of an emetic, such, as sulphate of zinc, or tepid mustard water, and after- 
wards the use of a strong purgative, so as to remove all traces of the 
offending substance. The hypodermic injection of atropin (^{00 to 
^^0 of 3- grain) should then be made, as it is an almost perfect physiological 
antidote for muscarin (Fig. 12). Many lives have been saved by the use 
of atropin. 



POISONOUS FUNGI AND OTHER SPORE-BEARING PLANTS 



00 





i^*uvu\njvuvv\jv\njiAnAfu\AJxnnnAAnru\ruirij\nAri/u\AAJi^^ 



- ^v 



/uiruu"uviivuuu\jiA/inj\i\/^nfuariAn/inn/\nruTJuvv^ 



Death Cup (Amanita phalloides, Venenarius phalloides). — This hand- 
some, solitary toadstool is found in woods, or along the borders of woods, 
very rarely indeed in open places. The cap, or pileus, is convex companu- 
late and later expanded from three 
to fifteen centimeters broad. The 
upper surface smooth, slightly 
viscid when moist and decorated 
with fragments of the universal 
veil. Its color is pure white to 
yellow, yellowish-green, green, gray, 
brown or blackish with a usually 
entire margin, rarely striate. The 
taste is not objectionable but the 
odor is disagreeable. The lamellae 
are broad and white, rounded at the 
base, free or adnexed to the stipe. 
The spores are globose, hyaline 
7-10,1',. The floccose-scaly stipe is 
bulbous at the base and stuffed, or 
hollow. The superior annulus is 
thin, membranous and ample. The 
basal volva is white attached to 
the base of the large, rounded bulb 

(Fig- 13)- 

Poisonous Substances.— ^ma- 

nita phalloides owes its toxic prop- 
erties to at least two poisonous 
constituents. One is a powerfully 
hemolytic agent which is destroyed 
by heating thirty minutes at 65°, 
acting directly upon the red blood 
corpuscles, even, if removed from 




"™'~»™'™*™■>™^™»'«nnJUuvnnrumTmn^uv^nrmJu^^v™u^nn^^ 



Fig. 12. — Contraction of a frog's heart: 
A, normal; B, three minutes after the 
application of one drop of a lo per cent, 
solution of muscarin; C, at the point in- 
dicated by the star two drops of a lo per 
cent, solution of muscarin were applied. 
Two minutes after the end of this curve 
the heart commenced to contract again 
with a slow and feeble beat. D, three 
minutes after the application of a weak 
solution of atropin sulphate in normal 
tap-water saline. It will be seen that 
the rhythmic contractions are restored 
and the contraction and relaxation be- 
come so complete that the excursion of 
the lever is greater than in Curve A , but 
the frequency is less. The time is 
marked in seconds. (Adapted from 
Pembrey, M. S. and Phillips. C. D. F. 
The Physiological Actiort of Drugs, 1907, 
Figs. 52 and 53, pp. 76-77-) 



the serum. Ford and his asso 
ciates have shown that this hemolysin is a glucoside, and this 
belongs to the saponin group, yielding on hydrolysis pentose and vola- 
tile bases, and yet capable of acting as an antigen, since actively 
antihemolytic sera can be produced by immunizing animals such as rab- 
bits. Such rabbits can be immunized to extracts of Amanita phalloides 



36 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



and the serum of such rabbits will neutralize five to eight times the lethal 
dose for guinea-pigs, and is anti-hemolytic for the hemolysin of Amanita, 
when diluted to i-iooo. As he and Abel had found this hemolytic poison 

of Amanita phaUoides to be a glu- 
coside, this observation is to be 
interpreted as a successful pro- 
duction of an antibody for a 
non-protein poison, a glucoside. 
This substance corresponds to 
the phallin of Kobert, which is 
usually given as the active 
principle of this deadly toad- 
stool. Wells suggests that prob- 
ably this hemolytic poison is 
not the important agent in 
poisoning hy Amanita phaUoides, 
as it is easily destroyed by heat 
and the digestive fluids. The 
thermostable poison, amanita- 
toxin, gives no reactions for 
either glucosides, or proteins and 
jdoes not confer any antitoxic 
property to the blood of im- 
munized animals, Amanita- 
toxin kills acutely, the animals 
dying in 24-48 hours, and show- 
ing no changes beyond a fatty 
degeneration of the internal or- 
gans. The hemolysin kills 
slowly in three to ten days, 
causing local edema and hemo- 
globinuria. 




Fig. 13. — Amanita phaUoides. {After 
Patterson, Flora W. and Charles, Vera K.: 
Mushrooms and other Common Fungi, 
Bull. 75, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 
1915, Fig. 2.) 



Symptoms. — V. K. Chestnut gives a synopsis of the symptoms of 
poisoning by Amanita phaUoides. ''The fundamental injury is not due, 
as in the case of muscarin, to a paralysis of the nerves controlling the 
action of the heart, but to a direct effect on the blood corpuscles (see above) 
These are quickly dissolved by phallin, the blood serum escaping from the 
blood vessels into the alimentary canal, and the whole system being 



POISONOUS FUNGI AND OTHER SPORE-BEARING PLANTS 37 

rapidly drained of its vitality. No bad taste warns the victim, nor do 
the preliminary symptoms begin until nine to fourteen hours after the 
poisonous mushrooms are eaten. There is then considerable abdominal 
pain and there may be cramps in the legs and other nervous phenomena, 
such as convulsions, and even lockjaw or other kinds of tetanic spasms. 
The pulse is weak, the abdominal pain is rapidly followed by nausea, 
vomiting, and extreme diarrhoea, the intestinal discharges assuming the 
"rice-water" condition characteristic of cholera. The latter symptoms 
are persistently maintained, generally without loss of consciousness, until 
death ensues, which happens in from two to four days." There is no 
known antidote by which the effects of phallin can be counteracted, but 
the experiments immunizing rabbits against this poison suggest profitable 
lines of experimentation in which man may be ultimately immunized. 

Helvellic Acid. — Helvellic acid from Helvetia esculenta has the empiric 
formula Ci2H2o07. It is a deadly poison soluble in hot water, so that if 
the fungus is boiled in water and the water thrown away, the toadstool 
becomes harmless. Helvellic acid, if intravenously injected, produces 
hemoglobinuria and icterus with hemoglobuHn infarcts in the kidneys. 
The symptoms of poisonous by this substance resemble in a marked 
degree those of the deadly phallin, the dissolution of the red corpuscles 
of the blood being one of the most marked and most dangerous. This is 
accompanied by nausea, vomiting, jaundice and stoppage of the kidneys. 
No antidote is known for helvelHc acid. 

General Considerations. — Mushrooms may be injurious to man even 
if poisonous varieties are not eaten by habits of gluttony and gorman- 
dizing, where large quantities of food are ingested. There is the greatest 
difference with regard to the digestibility of such fleshy fungi. Some can 
digest them readily, others find considerable difficulty. When not pro- 
perly digested by ferment action deleterious products may be formed in 
the gastro-intestinal tract. Spoiled fleshy fungi may through the action 
of bacteria develop a ptomaine called cholin C2H4OHN — (CH3)30H, 
which becomes an active poison when oxidized. 

Groups of Poisonous Fungi (Roch's Classification. — As this chapter 
has dealt with the fleshy fungi and as questions of poisoning by them is of 
general interest, the classification of the Dr. Roch from the clinical stand- 
point, as given in a paper by Beaman Douglass summarizing his work, will 
be found useful in elucidating the matter. Dr. Roch has made six groups. 
\k Group I. — Fungus exciting Action of Muscle Fiber. — Ergot of rye, 
Claviceps purpurea, which causes strong contraction of the 'muscles 



38 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

especially of the uterus and the blood vessels, belongs to this group. 

Group 2. — Fungi containing a Hemolytic Substance. Gyromitra escu- 
lenta, which has caused ten deaths in Europe within ten years, and 
Amanita phalloides possess hemolytic powers. 

Group 3. — Fungi producing Gastro-enteritis. This class includes such 
forms as Panus stipticus, Boletus sensibilis, Cantharellus aurantiacus, 
Lepiota Morgani, Russula emetica, Laclarius torminosus, Stropharia, 
Amanita muscaria and all peppery tasting Russulae and Lactarii. The 
usefulness of these forms is doubtful, but if boiled in acidulated water 
(i cup vinegar to a pint of water) for ten minutes, washed afterwards and 
all liquids thrown away, this class may be cooked and eaten with safety. 

Group 4. — Fungi affecting chiefly the Nervous System and the Gastro- 
intestinal System. This group includes Boletus luridus, Amanita cothur- 
nata, A. muscaria, A. pantherina, Clitocybe illudens, Inocybe infida and 
perhaps Pholiota autumnalis. These poisons affect the brain and spinal 
cord. Roch states that Amanita muscaria does not deserve its bad re- 
putation and states emphatically that it does not kill. He recalls the 
fact that in Rlissia it is eaten freely, if the cap is peeled and the fungus 
soaked in acidulated water. In Siberia also the natives use the poison 
of this plant in religious ceremonies to produce cerebral intoxication, 
excitement and ectasy. He points to the fact that the poison is eliminated 
from the body by the kidneys with great rapidity and that in order to 
continue this cerebral debauch the dose is frequently repeated by drinking 
the excretion. The lesser symptoms are like a real alcoholic, or cocaine, 
intoxication; excited heart action, dizziness, laughing and crying, a desire 
to jump and dance, to run and sing. The devotees of muscarin are 
perfectly happy, they are in high spirits, experience religious ectasy and 
this is all increased by ocular hallucination, in which distances are greatly 
increased, and size is distorted. They also have delightful visions of 
singing birds, palaces and beautiful landscapes. Roch states, however, 
that to meet death in this class the sufiferer must have eaten Amanita 
pantherina. He states that poisoning by Amanita muscaria results in 100 
per cent, recovery. These statements are in direct contradiction of those 
usually accepted (see ante) and should be carefully reinvestigated. 

Group 5. — Stimulating only the Nervous System. Panceolus cam- 
panulatus, P. venenosus, P. retirugis and P. semiglobatus are included here. 

Group 6. — Fungi causing Cell Destruction after a Prolonged Incubation. 
The fungi of this group cause a destruction of certain cells of the body 
after a prolonged period of unmanifested activity and are therefore 



POISONOUS FUNGI AND OTHER SPORE-BEARING PLANTS 



39 



extremely dangerous and usually fatal. There are only eight species 
belonging to this terrible class, viz.; Amanita phalloides, A. solitaria, 
A. virosa, A. vena, A. citrina, A. mappa and Amanitopsis volvata. 
Two poisons are found in fungi of this class: phallin and amanitatoxin 
which have been discussed as to their activity on a previous page. 

Horse-tail {Equisetum arvense). — This fern plant has underground 
rhizomes divided into nodes and in- 
ternodes. Short secondary roots arise 
from the subterranean nodes which are 
surrounded by brown, whorled scale 
leaves. The first shoot to appear early 
in the spring is chlorophylless with in- 
ternodes and nodes. A whorl of brown 
scale leaves arise from the nodes. The 
summit of this shoot terminates in a 
sporangiferous cone consisting of sporo- 
phylls bearing bag-like sporangia filled 
with green spores covered by four hygro- 
scopic elaters. Later a green, branching 
shoot arising from the rhizome and 
persists through the season (Fig. 14). 

Cases. — The investigations of Rich and 
Jones show that the horse-tail causes 
much and frequently fatal poisoning of 

, -IT . T^ • . 1 Fig. 14. — Horsetail {Equisetum 

horses m Vermont. Durmg the summers «^,,„,,). The pale fruiting stalks at 

of 19OI and 1902 Rich in his professional the left come up in spring, the much- 
, L .--ni- i- i-ji iii. branched stalk at the right is the 

work about Burlmgton had twenty- three g^^^^ summer form which occurs in 

cases of horses poisoned by this plant the hay; in the center are the under- 
j 1 • 1 1 J r i. ground stems and tubers. {After 

and his records showed forty-one cases }^^^^^ ^ ^ . y,,^^„i Grasses and 
which he had attended within five years. Clovers. Bulletin 94, Vermont Agric- 
T T^ r, X c • 1. • ultural Experiment Station, May, 

In Lurope a number 01 cases of equisetosis ^ n 
have been reported. 

Sjnnptoms. — The first evidence of trouble is more or less an emaciated 
conditions. The animal in two to five weeks loses control of its muscles, 
sways and staggers about. Later it has paralysis of the hind legs and as 
a result it falls down. Attempting to rise the horse becoming nervous 
struggles violently to arise. Finally there is general paralysis, uncon- 
sciousness and coma. The lungs and kidneys become congested, the pulse 




40 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

slow and toward the end rapid and weak. There is sugar in the urine. 
Death may come suddenly or be postponed in chronic cases for several 
weeks. 

Poisonous Principle. — According to Lohmann there is probably 
an alkaloidal nerve poison in species of Equisetum called by him equisetin. 

Treatment.— Stop the feed containing horse-tail, follow with a purga- 
tive pill of one ounce of Barbadoes aloes, one or two drachms of ginger, and 
sufficient soft soap to make a ball. This is put down the throat of the 
horse at one dose following with bran mashes night and morning until 
the digestive tract is cleared. Nux vomica is later administered to 
overcome the muscular incoordination. 
> 

Bibliography 

Atkinson, George Francis: Mushrooms Edible, Poisonous, etc. Andrus & Church, 

Ithaca, N. Y., 1900, pages 52-76; 242-252. 
Brown, H. B. and Ranck, E. M.: Forage Poisoning Due to Claviceps Paspalin Pas- 

palum. Technical Bull. 6, Mississippi Agricultural E.xperiment Station, Feb., 

1915- 
Douglass, Beaman: Mushroom Poisoning. Torreya, 17: 171-175, October, 1917; 

207-221, December, 1917. 
Ford, W. W.: The Toxins and Antitoxins of Poisonous Mushrooms, Amanita phalloides. 

Journ. Inf. Dis., 3: 191; The Distribution of Poisons in Mushrooms. Science, 

30: 97-108. 
Haas, Paul and Hill, T. G.: An Introduction to the Chemistry of Plant Products. 

Longmans, Green and Co., New York and London, 191 7. 
Harshberger, John W.: Ergotism Account of an Outbreak at Scranton, Pa., due to 

Eating Red Top, Agroslis vitlgaris with Claviceps microcephala (Walh.) Tul., Rept. 

Pa. Dept. Agr., 1902: 160; A Text-book of Mycology and Plant Pathology. P. 

Blakiston's Son & Co., Philadelphia, 1917. 
Long, Harold C: Plants Poisonous to Live Stock. Cambridge at the University 

Press, 191 7. 
McIlvaine, Charles: One Thousand American Fungi. The Bo wen-Merrill Company, 

Indianapolis, Ind., 1900. 
Murrill, William Alphonso: Edible and Poisonous Mushrooms. New York, 1916. 
Pammel, L. H.: a Manual of Poisonous Plants. The Torch Press, Cedar Rapids, 

Iowa, Part I, 1910; Part II, 1911. 
Rich, F. A. and Jones, L. R.: A Poisonous Plant the Common Horsetail {Equisetum 

arvense). Bulletin 95, Vermont Agricultural Experiment Station, June, 1902. 
Scott, J. L.: Golden-rod Killing Horses. Garden and Forest, viii: 477-478, November 

17, 1895. 
Wells, H. Gideon :''Chemical Pathology. W. B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia 

and London (second edition), 1914. 



POISONOUS FUNGI AND OTHER SPORE-BEARING PLANTS 4I 

Wilson, A. Stephen: Observations and Experiments on Ergot. Gardeners' Chronicle 
new ser., iv: 774, Dec. 18, 1875; 807, Dec. 25, 1875. 

Laboratory Work 

Suggestions to Teachers. — A supply of ergot spurs should be kept in dried state 
for the examination of the class. Ergoted rye heads should be kept in sufficient quan- 
tities for class use. The teacher should gather as many specimens of Amanita muscaria 
and A. phaUoidcs as possible and preserve these in alcohol for class use. For the 
chemical tests, the teacher should have pure cholin, phallin and muscarin. 

Laboratory Exercises 

1. Draw and examine closely the ergoted heads of rye noting the relationship of 
fungous sclerotia and rye host. 

2. Study cross section of the ergot sclerotia stained with Bismarck Brown and 
mounted in balsam. 

3. Draw and study fresh (if obtainable) or alcoholic specimens of fly agaric {Amanita 
muscaria) and death cup {Amanita phalloides) . 

4. Mount spores from these two fungi for microscopic comparison. 

5. If time permit paraffin sections of the cap and gills of one or both fleshy toadstools 
can be given to the class for study. 

6. Test for cholin (after Haas and Hill). 

A. Boil a strong aqueous solution; decomposition ensues and trimethylamine is 
given off, which may be recognized by its fish-like smell. 

B. Add platinic phloride to the aqueous solution; a double platinum salt is formed 
which crystallizes on standing. The crystals are soluble in 15 per cent, alcohol. Should 
the crystals not appear, proceed as follows: Dissolve cholin in alcohol and add alcoholic 
solution of platinic chloride. Fflter off the yellow precipitate, wash with alcohol and 
dissolve in as little water as possible. Place the solution in a watch glass and stand in a 
desiccator. Hexagonal plates will be deposited. 

7. In order to detect very small quantities, Rosenheim recommends the following 
method (Journ. Physiol., 2>y- 220, 1905). Prepare the double platinum salt, place a 
drop or two on a glass slip, and allow to evaporate. Add a drop of solution containing 
2 grams of iodine and 6 grams of potassium iodide in 100 c.c. of water and examine 
under the microscope. Dark brown prisms or plates will appear and then disappear 
as evaporation takes place. They will reappear on adding another drop of iodine 
solution. 

Experimental Pharmacology 

(See Greene, Charles W., p. 55) 

1. Ergot on the frog. Give 0.5 c.c. of the fluid extract of ergot. 

2. Ergot on the heart muscle. Change a contracting heart strip from saline to a 
10 per cent, solution of Squibb's fluid extract of ergot in saline solution. Allow it 
to act for five minutes. Take a continuous record. 



CHAPTER 4 

GYMNOSPERMOUS POISONOUS PLANTS 

The plants treated of in this chapter are members of the division of 
seed plants, Spermaphyta, but their seeds are naked at maturity not 
inclosed in some seed vessel, or fruit. They are mostly resinous shrubs 
and trees with evergreen leaves (the deciduous cypress and larch being 
exceptions). They are included with Class Gymnosperm^, which com- 
prises the sago palm (Cycas), ginkgo, yews, pines, junipers, etc. within its 
confines. 

Yew {Taxus canadensis) . — This low spreading shrub is found in woods 
from Newfoundland to New Jersey, southeastern Pennsylvania on north- 
facing slopes and Virginia west to Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota. It 
contains the bitter-tasting alkaloid, taxin (C37H52NO10) which acts as a 
heart depressant. The plant on account of its reputed poisonous character 
is called poison hemlock in some places. The bark leaves and seeds are all 
poisonous. The reddish, sweetish aril surrounding the seeds is not poi- 
sonous and is eaten freely by fruit-loving birds. 

Cases and Sjmiptoms. — Many cases of poisoning and of death of ani- 
mals from eating the fresh foliage have been recorded in the veterinary 
journals, and yet there are contradictory statements as to the results of 
eating the foliage of this spreading bush. The symptoms of poisoning are: 
Death may be sudden, resembling apoplexy. It may be preceded by stag- 
gering and convulsions and in cases of long standing there is gastro-enteri- 
tis. "There is a pronounced slackening of respiration and circulation, the 
pulse being small, slow. Sensibility is diminished. There is a fall of 
temperature, the skin and extremities being cold. The head is lowered, 
the eyes are closed and there is decubitus. In some cases pregnant ani- 
mals have aborted. In the horse, there are muscular tremors and fre- 
quent urination. In cattle and sheep rumination is suspended and there 
is more or less pronounced tympanites, with eructation, nausea and some- 
times vomiting. Pigs bury the head in the litter and sleep, their sleep 
being interrupted from time to time by nausea and groaning; or the ani- 
mals rise, stagger about, and lie down again. With fatal quantities the 

42 



GYMNOSPERMOUS POISONOUS PLANTS 43 

foregoing symptoms may be followed by coma with death in two hours 
or more after the poisoning, but more generally and usually in horses, 
asses and mules (but also in cattle) there is no period of coma, the excite- 
ment is less pronounced and often unobserved, and death appears very 
sudden. The animals stop, shake their heads, respiration is modified, 
there is falling, and death (sometimes with convulsions) results from 
cessation of the heart's action" (Cornevin). 

The western yew {Taxus brevifolia) is also said to be poisonous, as also 
the English yew (Taxus haccata) with much circumstantial evidence 
against it. 

Common Jimiper (Juniperus communis). — This plant is poisonous 
and yields a poisonous oil obtained from its berries. Rusby refers to the 
poisonous nature of the plant and Schaffner records that goats are poisoned 
by eating its foliage. It grows on limestone and sandstone in the north- 
ern United States and Rocky mountains. 

Red Cedar (Juniperus virginianus). — This is a tree of wide distribution 
frorn New Brunswick to British Columbia, south to Florida, Texas, New- 
Mexico and Arizona. Dr. Halsted has reported that goats have been 
poisoned by browsing upon it. 

Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens). — Redwood leaves are said to be 
poisonous. The tree is confined principally to the coastal region of 
California. 

Bibliography 

Garratt, Thomas and Radclyffe, W. F.: The Yew Poisonous to Cattle. Gardeners' 

Chronicle and Agricultural Gazette, 1872, 715 (May 25). 
J. G. J. S.: Yew Poisoning. Gardeners' Chronicle and Agricultural Gazette, 1872, 

509 (April 13) 
Long, Harold C. : Plant Poisonous to Live Stock. Cambridge at the University Press, 

1917, 72-76. 
Pammel, L. H.: a Manual of Poisonous Plants. Part I, 1910, 101-102; Part II, 1911, 

325-332- 
SoHN, Charles E.: Dictionary of the Active Principles of Plants; Alkaloids; Bitter 

Principles; Glucosides. Balliere, Tindall and Cox, London, 1894. « 

Watney Helen G. Yew Poisoning. The Garden, vii, 311, Apr. 10, 1875. 
WiTTSTEiN, G. C. and von Mueller, Baron Ferd; The Organic Constituents of 

Plants and Vegetable Substances and Their Chemical Analysis. M'Carron, Bird 

& Co., Melbourne, 1878. 

Laboratory Work 

I. Study and draw dried specimens of eastern American yew (Taxus canadensis) 
or western yew.(r. brevifolia) or the redwood (Sequoia sempervirens). 



44 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

2. Study and draw the aril and sectioned seeds of the yew shrub previously 
preserved in alcohol. 

3. Study and draw branches, berries, etc., of the r6d cedar (Juniperus virginiana) 
similarly preserved. 

4. Taxin obtained by purchase from the analytical chemist, is a white, loose 
amorphous powder, very bitter, slowly soluble in water, readily in alcohol and ether, 
fusible to a yellow resin by gentle heat, soluble in dilute acids. It should be kept as a 
stock supply for the following tests which should be performed by each member of 
the class. Precipitate by caustic alkalis and tincture of iodine. Test with concen- 
trated sulphuric acid which produces a purplish-violet color. This color can be de- 
colorized with water. 



CHAPTER 5 
MONOCOTYLEDONS AS POISONOUS PLANTS 

The poisonous plants treated of in this chapter belong to the Monoco- 
tyledoneae. Botanically the class is distinguished, as follows: The 
permanent roots are secondary being produced adventitiously, or at the 
time of embryonic development. The sap bundles in the stem are scattered 
and are closed, that is, each one is surrounded with a bundle sheath of 
sclerenchyma, which prevents further enlargement of the bundle. The 
principal veins of the leaves are parallel. The floral symmetry is of the 
trimerous kind and the embryo, usually surrounded with reserve food, 
possesses only one seed leaf, or cotyledon. 

Fodder or Silage Poisoning. — Two grasses are considered responsible 
for poisoning when fed as dry fodder or silage. These grasses are maize, 
or Indian corn {Zea Mays) and soxg}\\xra{Andropogon Sorghum). The 
author is not aware that any profound investigation has been made of the 
exact conditions under which poisoning is to be attributed to cattle eating 
fodder, or silage. Two alternatives seem to be possible. Corn stalks 
and the stems of sorghum are not easily digestible and the impaction of 
their fibers in the digestive tract may bring on severe cases of indigestion, 
especially where the cattle do not have access to plenty of water. The 
other alternative is in the poisonous action of toxic substances developed 
in the stored maize, or sorghum. It is known, that when corn silage is 
not properly stored, that is, where air has free access to all parts of the 
silage, that prussic acid develops. A glucoside occurs in the maize stem 
and this is capable of being converted into hydrocyanic acid, HCN, by an 
enzyme in the plant. After periods of extreme drought in the case of 
sorghum, the leaves of the plant contain considerable quantities of hydro- 
cyanic acid. This acid is an extremely toxic substance being the most 
rapidly acting drug we possess. Lethal amounts paralyze the respira- 
tory center and the heart muscles, death, as a rule, being due to failure of 
respiration with almost simultaneous cessation of the action of the heart. 

Twenty-one head of cattle, out of a total number of 32 animals, were 
poisoned at Aurora, Colorado on August 3, 1901 by eating Kafl&r corn, a 

45 



46 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

form of sorghum in which considerable amounts of prussic acid were 
detected. Eleven head lived, but four had violent spasms, but recovered. 
The symptoms were drowsiness, running at the eyes, twitching of the 
muscles, numbness of the limbs, staggering gait, inability to stand, 
involuntary passing of the urine and feces. The statement was made 
that the cattle seemed to all go crazy at once, then stagger like a person 
intoxicated, fall in all directions and die where they fell. 

Pellagra. — Pellagra has in the past been attributed to eating mouldy 
corn, or maize. Pellagra is a severe and chronic skin disease occurring 
among the squalid and destitute, who live largely, as in the southern 
states, upon maize, or Indian corn. The disease begins in the spring being 
characterized by eruptions over the entire body associated with indigestion 
and diarrhoea. The skin exfoliates and ulcerates and the person loses 
flesh. The disease occurs in southern Europe, in northern Africa and 
among the "crackers" of the southern United States and the inmates of 
insane asylums and state penitentiaries. The disease has been attributed 
to eating spoiled corn, to a colloidal silica in the food, but the current 
view is that it is due to the lack of vitamines in the food. These are 
present in minute quantities, but are essential to health , When they are 
absent from food the nutrition is at once affected and a deficiency disease 
results. Scurvy, beri-beri and pellagra belong to this class. The lack 
of one vitamine causes scurvy, the lack of another beri-beri, while the 
absence of a third in certain foods like corn causes pellagra. This seems 
to be the latest and most satisfactory explanation of the cause of the 
disease. 

Darnel (Lolium temiilentum). — The injurious character of this grass at 
least from its weedy side have been known since early times, for in the 
New Testament attention is drawn to the tares and the wheat. It is an 
annual grass with smooth stems growing from 2-3 feet tall with rough leaf 
sheaths and short ligule. The spikes are 6 to 12 inches long and the 
spikelets 5-7 flowered. The lower glumes are sharp pointed, equally in 
length the spikelets, and the lemma is awned, or awnless. 

Symptoms. — The grains of darnel, when ground up with wheat and 
made into flour, show their poisonous effects in producing headaches, 
drowsiness, giddiness, uncertain gait, and stupefaction, in older animals 
convulsions, loss of sensation and death. Loliin is the narcotic principle 
occurring in the pure state as a dirty white, amorphous, bitter substance 
causing, according to Hackel, eruptions, trembling and confusion of sight 



MONOCOTYLEDONS AS POISONOUS PLANTS 



47 



in man and flesh-eating animals and very strongly in rabbits, but it does 
not influence pigs, horned cattle or ducks. 

Nature of. Poison.- — It appears from recent investigation that the 
grains of darnel, which are 
injurious, contain a poiso- 
nous fungus (Endoconidium 
temulentum) upon which 
their poisonous effects prob- 
ably depend. It is believed 
that grains of darnel with- 
out the fungus are not 
poisonous. The darnel 
fungus, according to Free- 
man, lives in the outer 
layers of the grain penetrat- 
ing the aleurone layer and 
invading the starchy end- 
osperm. There exists in 
the nucellus, at the base 
of the scutellum of the 
darnel embryo and at the 
base and at the lower end 
of the inner groove a layer 
of hyphae which lies 
directly against the 
embryo" constituting an 
infective layer. When the 
embryo pushes out during 
germination, the hyphae 
grow into the developing 
seedling and keep pace 

with its growth and can ^^G. 15. — Death camas (Zygadenus venenosus.) 

, , J • ■, . (After Hall, Harvey M. and Gates, Harry S.: Slock 

be detected m the growmg Poisoning Plants of California. Bull. 249, University 
point throughout the life of "-^ California Agricultural Experiment Station, 191 5, 

the plant. 

Deathcamas (Zygadenus venenosus). — The Indians of the northwestern 
United States were acquainted with the medicinal and poisonous proper- 
ties of this plant and the earliest white explorers mention it in their 





48 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



journals. At least nine species of Zygademis are poisonous and the above 
mentioned one may be taken as the type of their action. The plant is 
also called wild onion, wild leek. It arises from a tunicated bulb and has 
narrow, erect, basal leaves and a scape, a foot or more high, becoming a 
spike of yellowish-white flowers, which blossom about June ist (Fig. 15). 
It matures its fruit in July and then the whole aerial part of the plant dies 
down to the ground. It is native to the west from Assiniboia and Neb- 



Hi If II 




*^ii **»^ 


|^-M/>»»».«...- 


"' ;; __k- — 







Fig. 16. — Sheep No. i68 at 1.30 p.m., showing weakness in forelegs after being fed 
Death Camas (Zygadenus venenosus). {After Marsh, C. Dwight, Clawson, A. B. and 
Marsh, Hadleigh: Zygadeus or Death Camas, Bulletin 125, U. S. Department of Agricul- 
ture, 1915. Plate V, Fig. i.) 



raska westward to the Pacific coast. The chief period of danger is in 
May and June when its dark green leaves are attractive to stock. Cattle 
are susceptible to the poison and some deaths have been reported, but 
cases among cattle are uncommon. Swine are said to eat the bulbs 
without bad results, but horses are poisoned. Sheep are the animals most 
frequently poisoned (Figs. 16 and 17). Detailed experiments by agents 
of the United States Department of Agriculture show that the principal 
symptoms are salivation, nausea, muscular weakness, coma and sometimes 



MONOCOTYLEDONS AS POISONOUS PLANTS 



49 




Fig. 17. — Sheep No. 168 at 5.45 p.m., when unable to rise after being fed Death 
Camas (Zygadenus venenosus) . {After Marsh, C. Dwight, Clawson, A. B., and Marsh, 
Hadleigh: Zygadenus, or Death Camas, Bulletin 125, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 
1915, Plate V, Fig. 2.) 









> 


A 


























4, 


\ 






























\ 
























1 




V 




^ 




















§ 










V. 


^ 




^ 









/OS 

/oo 

Pig. 18. — Curve of temperature of sheep No. 291 fed on Death Camas {Zygadenus 
venenosus. {After Marsh, C. Dwight, Clawson, A. B. and Marsh, Hadleigh: Zygadenus, 
or Death Camas, Bulletin 125, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 19x5, p. 26.) 



50 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



attacks of dyspnoea (Fig. i8). The toxic dose varies according to the 
conditions of feeding. In drenched animals, it may be put at about one- 
half a pound for an animal weighing a hundred pounds and in fed animals 











^ 


























/ 


























/ 


























/ 


















































i 


























/ 


























/ 






































































































































































































































\ 
























i 






















^ 


V 


V 






/ 


k.^ 








r<«s 






^ 










V 








-J 


^V 


—^ 







/so 
/so 

/70 
/60 

/SO 
/^O 

^ /20 

\ //O 

\ '°° 
SO 

^ so 

70 

eo 
so 
■^o 

30 
SO 
/O 



Pig. 19. — Curve of respiration of sheep No. 174 fed on Death Camas, Zygadenus 
venenosus. The sheep was drenched at 12 o'clock noon and died at 11. 15 p.m. The 
respiratory rate rose to 200 between 2 and 3 o'clock, when the animal had one of the 
spasmodic struggles for breath. It then fell to 9 and remained low, with comparatively 
slight variations, until the time of death. (After Marsh, C. Dwigfit, Clawson, A. B. and 
Marsh, Hadleigh: Zygadenus, or Death Camas, Bulletin 125, U. S. Department of Agri- 
culture, 1915, p. 27.) 

it varies from 1.6 pounds to 5.6 pounds (Fig. 19). The poisonous principle 
is an alkaloid or alkaloids, allied to veratrin and cevadin. Sick animals 
should be kept quiet as if this is done there are chances of recovery. No 
satisfactory riiedical remedy has been discovered for camas poisoning. 



MONOCOTYLEDONS AS POISONOUS PLANTS SI 

Stagger -grass (Chrosperma {Amianthium) musc(Rtoxicum) . — This is 
an erect smooth herb with a tunicated bulb and numerous long blunt 
basal leaves. The white flowers are arranged in a dense terminal raceme. 
The fruit is a capsule filled with reddish-brown, ovoid seeds. It is found in 
dry, sandy woods from Long Island to eastern Pennsylvania and south 
to Florida, Tennessee and A]:kansas, flowering from May to July. In 
March 1911, reports were received by the United States Department of 
Agriculture from Wilmington, North Carolina of the poisoning of cattle 
by this plant. Feeding experiments conducted by the Marshes and Claw- 
son confirmed the general opinion of the poisonous properties of the fly- 
poison plant. 

White Hellebore {Veratrum viride). — This is a common perennial herb 
in the damp alluvial soil along streams in North America, ascending to 
5000 feet in the White Mountains and other eastern ranges. There is a 
Californian species, V. californicum. Its stem is stout, tall, very leafy 
with broad light green parallel-veined leaves. The flowers are numerous 
greenish-yellow in a branching panicle. It arises from an erect, under- 
ground rootstock. Cases of poisoning are known in man, various animals 
and birds. 

Symptoms. — Animals do not relish the plant, as it is acrid and burning 
in the fresh condition, but young animals sometimes eat it with fatal re- 
sults. The seeds have been eaten by chickens with a fatal termination. 
The most marked symptoms of white hellebore poisoning are burning in 
the throat and oesophagus, salivation, defective vision, itching, vomiting, 
diarrhoea, severe headache and death by paralysis of the heart. The 
number of poisonous substances found in this plant is quite large. Vera- 
trin C32H19NO11 has an alkaline reaction and a burning taste, producing 
violent sneezing and dilatation of the pupil. It has been recently separated 
into several bases: the very poisonous cevadin C32H49NO9, vetratri- 
din CstHssNOii and sabadillin C34H53NO8 besides sabadin C29H51NO8, 
sabadinin C27H45NO8, jervin C26H37NO3, rubijervin C26H43NO2, pseudo- 
jervin C29H43NO7, protoveratrin C32H5iNOu, protoveratridin C26H45 
NOs and the bitter glucoside veratramarin. Jervin is a powerful depres- 
sant of the heart muscles and vasomotor centers. It depresses respira- 
tion and death occurs from asphyxiation. 

Treatment. — Treatment should consist of the use of cardiac and respira- 
tory stimulants, such as amyl nitrate (by inhalation), alcohol, strychnin, 
and atropin. Tannic acid can be used as a chemical antidote; opium to sub- 
due pain and demulcents to relieve local irritation of the digestive tract. 



52 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

Lily of the Valley {Convallaria majalis). — The lily of the valley is a 
smooth, perennial herb with horizontal rhizomes from which arise two or 
three oblong, parallel-veined leaves. Later in May to June, there is 
found a short scape with a short raceme of bell-shaped, white flowers 
having six included stamens. The fruit is a round, red berry with a few 
seeds. Apparently sheep and goats eat the leaves with impunity. The 
Revue Horticole published a number of years ago an account of the 
poisoning of a flock of fowls after eating the decaying flowers of this plant. 
Only the parent bird survived and one out of ten chickens. Two glu- 
cosides are found in the plant. Convallamarin C23H44O12 is an ex- 
tremely poisonous, crystalline compound with a bitter sweet taste. Its 
physiologic action on the heart is like digitalis. Convallarin C34Hh2 
Oi/ is crystalline with sharp taste and purgative in its action. The action 
of the poisonous principles on the heart is infrequent and irregular. 
Death occurs from paralysis. 

Meadow Saffron (Colchicum autumnale) . — The autumn crocus is found 
in meadows in many parts of Europe, but is not known in America 
outside of gardens. All parts of the plant are poisonous and many horses, 
cattle and pigs have been killed in Europe by eating it, although sheep 
and goats are almost immune. Children have died from eating its seeds. 
The toxic principle is cumulative in its action. It is a poisonous alkaloid 
colchicin C22H05NO6 which causes after small but not fatal doses 
loss of appetite, suppression of rumination, salivation, light colic, diar- 
rhoea and voiding of small quantities of urine. Blood has been seen in 
the milk of poisoned cows. Fatal quantities cause total loss of appetite, 
stupefaction, loss of consciousness, dilatation of the pupils, unsteady gait, 
and even paralysis of limbs, sweating, severe colic and bloody diarrhoea, 
bloody urine; rapid, small imperceptible pulse, labored breathing and 
death in one to three days. Recovery is very slow, if it takes place. 

Red Root {Lachnanthes (Gyrotheca) tinctoria). — This plant occurs in 
the coastal, fresh- water marshes and cranberry bogs from southeastern 
Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Jersey to Florida. It is a tall 
stout herb with yellow flowers and pink rhizomes. It poisons only white 
pigs, but not the black ones, so that there develops a preponderance of 
black pigs over white ones in regions where the plant is abundant. Post- 
mortem examination of the bones of white pigs reveals the curious fact 
that they are colored a reddish-pink. 

Lady Slipper Orchid {Cypripedium hirsutum). — This species may be 
taken as illustrating the poisonous activities of a number of eastern Ameri- 



MONOCOTYLEDONS AS POISONOUS PLANTS 53 

can species of Cypripedium. It is found in woods and swamps from Nova 
Scotia, Ontario and Georgia west to Minnesota and Iowa. The glandular 
hairs on the leaves, stem and flower parts secrete a poisonous oil which 
produces an irritation of the skin, or a dermatitis. Mac Dougal, who 
first reported such poisonous action, experimented personally with a 
mature specimen and states "a slight tingling sensation was felt at the 
time, and, fourteen hours later the arm was greatly swollen from the shoul- 
der to the finger tips. The portion covered by the plant was violently 
inflamed and covered with macules, accompanied by the usual symptoms 
of dermatitis and constitutional disturbances." Nestler discovered that 
the secretion of these hairs was a fatty acid readily soluble in alcohol and 
benzol. No specific antidote has been discovered. 

Bibliography 

Black, O. F. and Alsberg, C. L: The Determination of the Deterioration of Maize, 

with incidental Reference to Pellagra. Bulletin 199, Bureau of Plant Industry, 

U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1910; Contributions to the Study of Maize 

Deterioration, Bulletin 270, do, 1913. 
Blankinship, J. W. : The Loco and some other Poisonous Plants in Montana. Bulletin 

45, Montana Experiment Station, June, 1903, pages 91-93. 
Hall, Harvey U. and Gates, Harry S.: Stock Poisoning Plants of California. Bull- 
etin 249, College of Agriculture, Agricultural Experiment Station, Berkeley, 

California, 1915, pages 225-228. 
Lily of the Valley Poisonous to Fowls. Gardeners' Chronicle, 3d Ser., iv, ^y. 
Long, Harold C: Plants Poisonous to Live Stock. Cambridge at the University 

Press, 191 7, pages 78-84. 
M,\RSH, C. D.: Stock-Poisoning Plants of the Range. Bulletin 575, U. S. Dept. of 

Agriculture, 1919, with colored plates. 
Marsh, C. Dwight, Clawson, A. B. and Marsh, Hadleigh: Zygadenus or Death 

Camas. Bulletin 125, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, 1915; Stagger Grass (Ckrosperma 

muscaltoxicum) as a Poisonous Plant. Bulletin 710, 19 18. 
Moore, Veranus A.: Cornstalk Disease {Toxaemia maidis) in Cattle. Bulletin lo, 

Bureau of Animal Industry, 1896. 
Niles, George M.: Pellagra An American Problen^. Philadelphia, W. B. Saunders 

Company, 191 2. 
Pammel, L. H. : Manual of Poisonous Plants. Part 2, 1911, pages 333-395. 
Pellagra Due to Colloidal Silica in Food. Geographical Review, October, 191 7, 

page 321. 
Perkins, W. B.: Sorghum Poisoning of Cattle. Mississippi Report, 1901, page 35. 
Sorghum Poisoning {Sorghum vulgare) Qu. Agr. Journ., xiii; 59, July, 1903; 98. 

.\ug., 1903, 473; Review Journ. Roy. Hort. Sci., 28, 711. 
V'itamines. The Youth's Companion, June 10, 1918, page 24. 



54 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL UOTANY 

Wilson, Alexander Stephen: Further Experiments with Lolium temulentum. 
Gardeners' Chronicle & Agricultural Gazette, 1873, 1702-1703 (December 20). 

Laboratory Work 

Suggestion to Teacher. — Dried specimens with flowers should be kept of each of 
the plants in the list below and in quantity sufficient to supply each member of the 
class. These specimens should be made when the material is available, one set of 
plants should be mounted conveniently for use in demonstration. Darnel with grains, 
Death Camas, Stagger-grass, White Hellebore, Lily of the Valley, Meadow Saffron, 
Red Root, Lady Slipper Orchid. As many of these listed plants should be distributed 
(usually one or two in the single laboratory hour), as can be described conveniently. 
Selected plants above will be found in the eastern and western parts of America and in 
Europe_(Meadow Saffron). 

Laboratory Exercises 

1. Describe each specimen according to the accompanying outline, or to the outline 
with maps and other data in the Students' Herbarium for Descriptive and Geographical 
Purposes published by Christopher Sower Company, 124 N. i8th Street, Philadelphia, 
1901. European and western American botanists can use the species corresponding 
to those in the above list. 

Outline for Study of Plant 
Root. — Primary, or secondary, kind (fibrous, fleshy, etc.), shape. 
Stem. — Dicotyledonous, or monocotyledonous, size (height, girth, etc.), kind, shape, 

peculiarities. 
Leaf. — Phyllotaxy, stipulate, or exstipulate, petiolate, or sessile, simple or compound, 

general shape, venation, margin, apex, base, etc. 
Flower. — Inflorescence, perfect, or imperfect, complete, or incomplete, regular, or 

irregular, symmetrical, or unsymmetrical, bracteate, or ebracteate, bracts (kind, 

etc.) 
Calyx. — Aposepalous, or gamosepalous, insertion, aestivation, number of sepals, 

shapes, etc. 
Corolla. — Apopetalous, or gamopetalous, insertion, aestivation, number of petals, 

shapes, color, etc. 
Stamens. — Insertion, relation to each other, relation to other parts, number. 
Pistil. — Apocarpous, or syncarpous, number of carpels, ovary superior, or inferior, 

number of cells, placentation. 
Fruit. — Simple, etc. 
Seeds. — Albuminous, or exalbuminous. 

2. Distribute stained sections of darnel fruit in oil of cloves, or xylol, for the study 
of the fungus symbiotic in the grain of the plant. 

3. Distribute for permanent mounting sections of the stem and of the leaves of the 
lady slipper orchid to show position and structure of the glandular hairs of the epi- 
dermal surface. 



CHAPTER 6 
DICOT\XEDONS AS POISONOUS PLANTS 

The poisonous plants dealt with in the next four chapters are dicoty- 
ledons. Dicotyledons are plants with permanent primary root, which 
produces secondary, lateral roots. The sap bundles are arranged collater- 
ally with pith in the center surrounded with a cylinder of xylem, 
cambium, bast (hard and soft), cortex and bark. The principal veins 
of the leaves are arranged to form a net, or reticulum. The floral sym- 
metry is dimerous, trimerous, or pentamerous. The embryo has two 
seed leaves, or cotyledons. A careful selection has been made of those 
known to be poisonous to stock. There are in Europe three hundred and 
fifty plants which are injurious to man and the domestic animals. There 
are probably as many in America, but the poisonous effect of many have 
not been demonstrated. Statistics in regard to poisonous plants are 
lacking, owing to ignorance of the subject and it is, therefore, impossible 
to give ah estimate as to the amount of damage done by these plants. 

There are probably more cases of poisoning on the great stock ranges 
than in the farming regions, because the conditions on the great stock 
ranges are different. The stock on the great ranges do not have invariably 
a sufficient amount of food, and this probably leads to the use of plants 
which with a more abundant supply would be avoided. New sheep, 
which are totally unfamiliar with the range plants, are brought in from 
farms and naturally fail to discriminate the poisonous from the harmless 
food plants. Some believe that alkali waters, when used by stock for 
drinking purposes, serve as a substitute for salt, and induce an unnatural 
appetite in the stock, which results in their use of the injurious plant 
species of the range for food. We are thus introduced to the species of 
plants which have been chosen to represent the great dicotyledonous class. 

Poke or Garget {Phytolacca decandra). — The crowberry, chongras 
or ink plant is a smooth tall perennial growing 5 to 8 feet tall with a 
thick root, purplish stems, alternate leaves and elongated racemes of 
greenish-white flowers followed by purple-black berries, which yield 



56 



I'ASTOKAL AND AdRICULTURAL MOTANY 



juice used as a suljstitute for red ink (Fig. 20). The plant is a native of the 
United States, extending from Maine and northern IlHnois to Florida 
westward to Texas, eastern Kansas and southern Minnesota. The young 
fresh shoots as they appear above the ground are used for greens, 
but the root should be rejected as it is bitter and poisonous if taken in 
large amount. The water in which the plant is boiled should be thrown 
away, as it contains the poisonous substance. 




Fig. 20. — Tall plant of Poke {Phytolacca decandra) in abandoned manure pit in front 
of stable at Belmar, N. J., August 23, 19 19. The ripe fruits may be seen on close 
inspection. 

Action and Symptoms. — Poke is a violent, but slow acting emetic, 
vomiting beginning after about two hours have elapsed from the ingestion 
of the food. It affects the muscles and nerves causing retching, spasms, 
severe purging and occasionally convulsions. Accidental cases of poison- 
ing have occurred where the root has been mistaken for parsnip and horse- 
radish. A few fatal cases of the poisoning of children have followed the 
eating of the juicy berries. 

Active Principal. — The active principal of poke is an amorphous, bitter 
and acid substance very similar to if not identical with saponin. The 
alkaloid phytolaccin occurs in small amount. Nozi reports a toxic sub- 



DICOTYLEDONS AS POISONOUS PLANTS 



57 



stance phytolaccotoxin (C24H30O8). The juice of the berry is a delicate 
test for acids, when lime water is added to it. 

Com Cockle. — {Agrostemma githago). — This is an erect annual herb 
growing as tall as wheat in the wheat field. It is densely pubescent with 
whitish, appressed hairs. Its 
leaves are opposite, linear-lanceo- 
late and acute (Fig. 21). 

Symptoms. — If the seeds (Fig. 
2ih) are ground with wheat, they 
impart to baker's flour a bitter 
taste and poisonous properties. 
Fatal results have followed the 
use of bread containing ground 
corncockle seeds. A few years 
ago a number of horses died in a 
stable connected with one of the 
larger Philadelphia breweries by 
eating oats that had come from 
the bottom of the grain bin. No 
deleterious substance was found 
in the sample of oats submitted 
to the writer for examination ex- 
cept a large number of corncockle 
seeds and this indirect evidence 
points to these seeds as respon- 
sible for the death of the animals 
and a report was made to the 
owner of the horses accordingly. 
It is known that the symptoms 
of poisoning in horses is yawning, 
heavy colic, stamping and evacua- 
tion of rather soft feces. If 
larger quantities are eaten there 
is salivation, frequent yawning 
and turning of the head with coHc, pale mucus, hurried and weak pulse, 
rise in temperature and accelerated respiration. There are muscular 
tremors followed by rigidity and the feces are diarrhoeic and fetid. The 
horse Hes down. It gets up painfully. These symptoms are succeeded 




Pig. 21. — Corncockle {Lychnis githago). 
Cominon in grain fields. {Chestnut Division 
of Botany, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.) {Re- 
produced in Pammel, L. H.: Some Weeds of 
Iowa, Bull. 70, Experiment Station, Iowa 
State College, 1903, p. 326.) 



58 J>ASTOKAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

by coma and death without convulsions. In cattle the symptoms 
observed one hour after eating are grinding of the teeth, restlessness 
and abundant flow of the saliva with colic and coughing, a state lasting 
five to eight hours followed by coma, fetid diarrhoea, rapid respiration 
and pulse, a gradual loss of motor and sense powers and a progressive 
decline of the temperature. In twenty-four hours the cattle are dead. 
Pigs are also susceptible. Young pigs especially so.^ A chronic form of 
the disease is known as githagism. 

Poisonous Principles. — The poisonous principle in cockle seeds is a 
glucoside known under different names as githagin, saponin, agrostemin, 
sapotoxin,smilacin(Ci7H260in). Seeds contain up to 6.56 per cent, of this 
principle which is soluble in water and froths like soap when shaken up. 

Aconite (Aconitum columhianum) . — This is the only native American 
species which may be considered dangerous like the European plant 
Aconitum Napelliis, as the other three American species are very local and 
not very poisonous. The western American ficonite, or monkshood, 
grows at an altitude of 5,000 to 10,000 feet in low grounds near brooks 
and springs from Montana, Wyoming and Colorado to the sierras. 

Symptoms. — Prof. V. K. Chestnut says of this western species: "All 
of the parts are poisonous, but the seeds and roots are the most dangerous. 
The active principle is not well known, but chemical and physiologic 
experiments point to the existence of one or more alkaloids which resemble 
aconitin. The effect of the poison is characteristic. There is first a 
tingling sensation on the end of the tongue which gives rise shortly to a 
burning sensation, and is rapidly followed by a very pronounced sense of 
constriction in the throat. The choking thus produced is made the more 
alarming by the retarding effect which the poison has upon the respiration. 
The tingling and prickling over the entire body is also characteristic. 
Besides these symptoms there are generally severe headache, abdominal 
pains, confused vision, vomiting and diarrhoea. Delirium is usually 
absent. Death ensues from a stoppage of the respiration in from one to 
eight hours." 

Nature of Poisons. — Horses, cattle, sheep, pigs have been poisoned in 
Europe from eating Aconitum Napellus. Cows have died in Victoria. 
Linnaeus states that it is fatal to cows and goats when eaten fresh, but 

' The writer had some seeds sent to him on .\ugust 23, 1916, from Dr. W. C. Keeder 
of Rising Sun, Md., which had been taken from the "chop'' feed of hogs, that had 
been poisoned as a result and were vomiting and showing other signs of debilitj'. 



DICOTYLEDONS AS POISONOUS PLANTS 59 

in the dried state it is nontoxic to horses. All parts of the European 
plant are poisonous, but the root is especially so, and next the seeds and 
the leaves of the plant. The toxicity varies with age and climate, but 
slightly active when young. It is most active just before the flowers develop. 
The cultivated plant is less poisonous than the wild, and the poison is 
partly dissipated upon drying. The plant contains the toxic alkaloid 
aconitin (C34H47NOU) and also aconin (C25H41NO9). Aconite is an 
extremely valuable drug being used when taken internally as a depres- 
sant slowing the pulse and lowering the blood pressure. In over doses it 
produces death by respiratory paralysis. 

Buttercup {Ranunculus sp.). — The hands of the writer were poisoned 
by removing Ranunculus bulbosus from 70 per cent, alcohol in which the 
tops with flowers had been preservcid for class study. The inflammation 
produced on the skin was a typical dermatitis resembling that caused by 
the poison ivy, Rhus radicans. A number of species are known to be 
poisonous when fresh, but the poisonous principle is volatile and is dissi- 
pated on drying the plants, so that hay with included buttercups is non- 
poisonous to stock, if fully dried. Boiling the plants also renders them 
inocuous. The celery-leaved buttercup Ranunculus sceleratus, called by 
the French Mortaux V aches and Herhe sardonique, is considered to be the 
most toxic species, and the toxicity seems to increase up to the time of 
flowering after which it decreases. The bulbous buttercup seems to vary 
in its toxic properties having poisonous flowers, while the bulb-like rhiz- 
ome becomes m6st harmful in autumn and winter. Ranunculus Ficaria, 
the lesser celandine, has been the cause of the poisoning of three heifers, 
while cattle have been poisoned frequently by the tall buttercup, R. acris. 

Poisons. — Most of the species contain an acrid and bitter juice prob- 
ably identical with anemonin, which has been obtained along with ane- 
monic acid from the acrid crowfoot, R. acris. Some toxicologists assert 
that the poisonous species contain the two alkaloids aconitin and delphinin. 

Symptoms. — The buttercups are acrid, burning and narcotic causing 
irritation of the mucous membrane, the intestinal tract becoming inflamed. 
According to Cornevin, the celery-leaved buttercup induces colic, gastro- 
enteritis, diarrhoea with black foul-smelling feces, vomiting in animals 
which can do it, falling-off in milk yield in cows, nervous state, pulse 
reduction and stertorous re^iration, pupils dilated, feebleness, difl&cult 
mastication, spasmodic movements of the ears, lips, etc., convulsions, 
eyeballs sunken. Death follows the convulsions in six to twelve hours. 



6o 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



Larkspurs {Delphinium Ajacis, D. bicolor, D. camporum, D. Geyeri, 
G. glauctim (Fig. 22), D. Menziesii, D. Nelsoni, D. scopulorum, D.tricornc 
D. trolliijoliiim) are responsible for cases of poisoning. The principle 
usually increases its virulence with age. Pammel in his "Manual of 
Poisonous Plants" gives a circumstantial account of each of the principal 
species of larkspurs, and the feeding experiments which have been tried 
with each plant. With the exception of the European, Delphinium Ajacis, 




Pig. 22. — Tall mountain larkspur {Delphinium glaucum). One-half natural size- 
{After Hall, Harvey M., and Gates, Harry S., Stock Poisoning Plants of California. Bull- 
249, University of California Agricultural Experiment Station, 1915, p. 232.) 



all the other species mentioned above are western American (Fig. 23), a 
few extending into the eastern United States. As the cattle ranges of 
western America, as in California, include habitats such as moist meadows, 
gulches, borders of springs, or ponds, open hillsides, sparsely forested 
areas and the open steppes, we find the species varying with the habitat 
conditions, and with this we find that next to the loco weed, the larkspurs 
are the most harmful and poisonous of the plants found on the open 
ranges (Fig. 24). 



DICOTYLEDONS AS POISONOUS PLANTS 



6l 



Poisonous Principles. — Not all of the species have been studied 
for their poisonous constituents, but there have been found in D. consolida 
and D. staphisagria the alkaloids delphinin C22H35O6N extremely poi- 
sonous and with a bitter taste; delphisin C22H33NO5 poisonous; delp- 
hinoidin C42H68N2O7 poisonous and staphisagrin. Delphinin has a 



fjl, ■*■■ , 


gg|yM|g||g| 


'^^M '^ijfcMl^iltog^^^^ '' ^ 


M ^ . 

,^^^^ 
-:#^'» 


^rf J^ *^^L,. jRj'^Ff'i*^^^^ '^ ^^JlbJ 


'^m 


^K 













Fig. 23.— Pass Creek Park, Colo., with low larkspur (Delphinium Menziesii) in 
blossom. {After Marsh, C. Dwight, Clawson, A. B., and Marsh, Hadleigh: Larkspur 
Poisonifig of Live Stock, Bulletin 3657, U. S. Department of Agriculture, September 8, 1916, 
Plate III.) 

local irritative action. Its systemic action is mainly paralytic on the 
heart and respiration and resembles that of aconitin in many respects. 
Post mortem examination in poisoning by mouth with this body showed 
marked reddening of the stomach. Recently in a number of Van Praag's 
experiments with feeding solutions of Delphinium a marked increase in 
urinarv secretion was noted. 



62 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



Recently also Delphinium hicolor, D. Menziesii, and D. Nelsonii 
have been found to yield an alkaloid, delphocurarin, which has been in- 
troduced as a substitute for curare in vivisection work, and this introduc- 
tion is indorsed by Lohmann's work. Methyl delphinin is said also to 
possess this curare-like action. 

Symptoms. — Froggatt states that the common garden larkspur will 
kill locusts and advises planting them in masses around gardens as a pro- 



/^^^f^^^ 


— 


W&^'y 


M 






^./■.c::. ■ ' 


'^^.\- ir 


■ :■# "' 3 (■ 




^;V-.;..<:..>.^ ■ ^ 


>;•: J _ ... 


wwma-wi^v' *'<'^mai 


rf^''«as£^irr'«^H».7i 





Pig. 24. — Sheep feeding upon larkspur (Delphinium Menziesii). (After Marsh, 
C. Dwighl, Clawson, A. B. and Marsh, Hadleigh: Larkspur Poisoning of Livestock. Bulle- 
tin 36s, U. S. Department of Agriculture, September 8, 1916, Plate XV, Fig. i.) 

tective measure against insects as the locusts and the grasshopper. Other 
species kill maggots and ticks. 

The animals affected show symptoms similar to those produced by 
overdoses of aconite. There is general stiffness and irregularity of gait 
as the first symptoms. The hind legs show pronounced straddling (Fig. 
25) and these actions become more pronounced until locomotion becomes 
difficult or impossible, and the animal finally falls to the ground, making 
attempts to get upon its feet, the movements being more and more irregu- 



DICOTYLEDONS AS POISONOUS PLANTS 



63 



lar and incoordinated (Fig. 26). The skin is sensitive to the touch 
and the muscles of the legs and sides of the body begin to quiver spasmod- 





FiG. -'5. — Case 117, August 15, re- 
maining on its feet with great difficulty. 
Animal poisoned by eating larkspur. 
{After Marsh, C. Dwight, Clawson, A. B., 
and Marsh, Hadleigh: Larkspur Poisoning 
of Live Stock. Bulletin ^6$, U. S. Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, Septe?nber 8, 1916, 
Plate X, Fig. 3.) 



Fig. 26. — Case 117, August 15, in 
the act of backing in the manner charac- 
teristic of larkspur poisoning. Animal 
poisoned by eating larkspur. {After 
Marsh, 'C. Dwight, Clawson, A. B. and 
Marsh, Hadleigh: Larkspur Poisoning of 
Live Stock. Bulletin 365, U. S. Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, September 8, 1916, 
Plate X, Fig. 4.) 




Pig. 27. — Case 78, when feeling the worst. Horse poisoned by eating larkspur. 
{After Marsh, C. Dwight, Clawson, A. B. and Marsh, Hadleigh: Larkspur Poisoning of 
Live Stock. Bulletin 365, U. S. Department of Agriculture, September 8, 1916, Plate XIV, 
Fig- 3-) 



ically and this continues for several hours. The special senses seem to be 
seldom impaired, hearing and sight are both normal. There is sHght 
saHvation. Violent convulsions follow the above premonitory symptoms 



64 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

the animal dying in one of the fits. The digestive action appears normal. 
There is a slight lowering of the temperature, the pulse becomes frequent 
and the respiration rapid and shallow. The nervous symptoms are 
simply those of excitement and the appetite is fair. Cattle and horses 
are the animals usually killed by eating these plants (Fig. 27). Sheep are 
rarely injured. 

Treatment. — The California Experiment Station recommends the 
following medicine for subcutaneous injection by a hypodermic syringe. 

Physostigmin salicylate, one grain. 

Pilocarpin hydrochloride, two grains. 

Strychnin sulfate, one-half grain. 

These quantities are for an animal weighing five hundred or six hundred 
pounds. This remedy relieves constipation and stimulates respiration. 
The dose should not be repeated. Poisoned animals should be kept quiet 
with the head kept higher than the other parts. Grubbing out the plants 
has been found to be the best method of preventing loss of cattle from 
larkspur poisoning. 

Marsh Marigold (Caltka palustris). This stout, smooth herb is a 
native of Europe and in America it is found in swamps and meadows 
from Newfoundland to South Carolina and Nebraska, flowering from Apiil 
to June. The reports about the plant are most contradictory. In some 
places, the flower buds are pickled, eaten and used fresh as a pot herb. 
Stebler and Schroeter say that it is poisonous in a green state, and Rusby 
states that fed with hay, it produces diarrhoea and stoppage of the flow of 
milk. Rafinesque asserts that cattle die of the inflammation of the stom- 
ach, while it causes hematuria, according to Freidberger and Frohner. 

May-apple {Podophyllmn peltatum.) — This perennial herb has a 
long creeping rootstock from which the stem with 2 peltatel eaves arises 
bearing a single, creamy-white flower with 6 unequal sepals, 6-9 
petals, 12-18 stamens and a single-celled ovary. 

Symptoms. — The Indians were acquainted with its medicinal virtues 
and the writer on inquiring the use of the plant of an old negro herb doctor, 
who was gathering the rhizomes in the woods near Philadelphia, replied, 
"boss, it is good for the bowels." , The old colored man recognized its 
purgative qualities in small doses. Dr. Winslow says: "The action is ex- 
erted mainly on the duodenum, which is intensely inflamed and even 
ulcerated in poisoning. Podophyllin directly increases the secretion 
of the bile in small doses, while purgative quantities hasten its excretion 



DICOTYLEDONS AS POISONOUS PLANTS 65 

by stimulation of the muscular coat of the gall bladder (except in 
the horse, and small intestines). It is probable that the intestinal 
secretions are somewhat augmented. The fecal movements after 
medicinal doses of podophylHn are liquid, often stained with bile, and 
may be accompanied by some nausea and griping." Eaten by cows, 
while pasturing in open woodlands, it imparts to the milk of such 
animals purgative properties, which may be dangerous to infants fed 
upon such milk contained in the bottle. Cases of poisoning have been 
reported occasionally. In the Philadelphia Medical and Surgical 
Reports (XIX: 308), a fatal case is recorded in which the evidence 
is perfectly clear that poisoning resulted from continual large doses 
administered by an ignorant and careless physician. The poisonous 
symptoms were all referable to the intestines as enteritis. Inhalation of 
the dust of the dried rhizome and administration of podophylUn in ^^ to 
^'2 grain doses cause inflammation of the eyes, soreness and pustulation of 
the nose; salivation and white-coated tongue; extreme nausea, followed by 
vomiting; severe pains in the transverse colon and abdomen, followed by 
a call to stool; thin, offensive, copious stools; weak pulse, prostration, 
drowsiness, and cold extremities." 

Active Properties. — The active properties of the plant appear to reside 
in the resinous substance podophyllin. This contains podophyllotoxin 
CuHi402 + 2H2O and picropodophyllin, C11H8O2 + H2O with a bitter 
taste, berberin C20H17NO4 (feebly toxic to many) and saponin. 

Celandine {Chelidonium majus). — The celandine is a member of the 
poppy family (Papaverace^) introduced from Europe into America 
and in some localities thoroughly naturalized. Its leaves are thin once 
to twice pinnatifid and glaucous beneath. When the rootstock, stem and 
leaves are bruised, a yellow juice or later exudes. The flowers are yellow 
with two sepals, four petals and numerous stamens. The ovary is 
superior, one-celled with two parietal placentae. It has long been used 
as a drug plant having emetic and purgative properties and is a danger- 
ous poison. There are no cases on record of domestic animals being killed 
by eating it, as it has an unpleasant odor. 

Properties. — The plant contains a bitter alkaloid chelidonin (C20H19NO5 
+ H20) and an additional poisonous alkaloid chelerythrin (C21H17NO4) 
related to sanguinarin and protopin (C20H17NO5). Cornevin states that 
the poison is not removed by drying the plant, but Pott (1907) believes 
that it becomes harmless to animals on desiccation. 



66 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

The plant is acrid, irritant and narcotic, emetic and purgative. Chel- 
erythrin causes violent sneezing, if inhaled, and causes vomiting if taken 
internally. 

Poppies {Papaver spp.). — Two old world plants of this genus the corn 
poppy (Papaver Rhoeas) and the long smooth fruited poppy {Papaver 
dubium) are of sufficient interest to be included in our list of poisonous 
plants, especially as their relationship to the opium poppy {Papaver 
somniferum) enables us to refer to this perhaps the most important plant 
of a medicinal kind, the source of a useful drug, which properly controlled 
is beneficial, but if improperly used is the cause of more misery than any 
other drug employed by mankind. 

General Considerations. — Poisoning by the above mentioned poppies 
is not common, but the corn poppy has been known to poison animal? 
when mixed with green fodder, or by the ingestion of seeds and capsules 
with waste materials taken in with the food. Ordinarily stock refuse 
to eat the plants, because they have an unpleasant odor and taste. Horses, 
cattle and pigs have been poisoned by eating Papaver diibium. 

The drug acts more powerfully upon man than upon the lower animals, 
especially ruminants, who are comparatively insusceptible. 

S3nmptoms. — With regard to the symptoms produced in animals. 
Dr. Winslow says: "Ounce doses of the drug cause, in cattle, restlessness, 
excitement, hoarse bellowing, dry mouth, nausea, indigestion and tym- 
panites. Sheep are affected much in the same manner. One to two 
drachms of morphin have led to fatality in cattle. Fifteen to thirty 
grains of the alkaloid comprise a lethal dose for sheep. Swine are various- 
ly influenced, sometimes excited, sometimes dull and drowsy." With 
horses it sometimes causes drowsiness at other times has no visible effect. 
Horses have recovered from an ounce of opium, but two and one half 
ounces of the drug and one hundred grains of morphin have proved fatal. 
Cornevin describes the symptoms in cattle as excitement, pawing of 
the soil or litter, increased respiration and more rapid pulse, followed by 
stoppage of digestion sometimes with a swelling of the eyelids and coma. 
Cattle move about with an unsteady gait. Finally the animals fall, and 
if poisoned fatally, it remains stretched on the ground respiration becomes 
slower, the temperature falls, with convulsions and death by asphyxia. 
Muller notes wildness of look, dilatation of pupil convulsions, coma and 
symptoms of depression. There is bloating, constipation, bloody diar- 
rhoea (at times) and salivation. Death is rare. 



DICOTYLEDONS AS POISONOUS PLANTS 67 

Nature of Poisons. — The opium poppy contains a long list of alkaloids 
enumerated by Fliickiger and Hanbury. The most important of the alka- 
loids is morphin (C17H19NO3 + H2O) which in the pure state is a colorless 
or white shining, odorless substance with a bitter taste. Codein, also of 
considerable importance is a nearly transparent odorless substance with 
a faintly bitter taste and narcotin is also present. 

Wild Black Cherry {Prunus serotina). — This is a medium sized forest 
tree found in the Middle Atlantic and Ohio River states very commonly. 
Less commonly in southern New England and Gulf states and westward 
from Illinios, South Dakota, eastern Nebraska and Arkansas. The 
leaves are alternate and dark green. The white flowers, which appear in 
April and May, are produced in racemes, followed in the fall by the shining- 
black, edible fruit, suggesting a small bunch of grapes. 

Nature of Poisoning. — Poisoning is frequently caused in cattle by 
eating the wilted leaves from branches, which have been accidently 
broken off from the tree. A case of poisoning in horses on a stock farm 
at Chestnut Hill, Pa., was called to the attention of the writer, where the 
animals in passing from the paddock, where they had been feeding, to the 
stable had browsed upon the leaves from several branches that had been 
broken down by the passing of a wagon loaded with hay. The prominent 
symptoms observed in cattle are labored breathing, diminished pulse, 
numbness, protruding eyeballs, convulsions, and death from paralysis 
of the lungs. Sometimes there is frothing at the mouth and nearly always 
a perceptible odor of prussic, or hydrocyanic, acid on the breath. 

Active Principles. — The fresh parts of the plant, including the leaves, are 
nonpoisonous, but contain a gluccside called amygdalin (C20H27NO11) 
when the leaves are partially withered this glucoside is acted upon by a 
ferment known as emulsin, and by a complex chemical change, the amyg- 
dahn is converted into the poisonous prussic, or hydrocyanic acid (HCN) 
with the formation of grape sugar and benzaldehyde (bitter almond oil). 
It is the formation of the hydrocyanic acid, which causes the poisoning, 
and if the leaves are thoroughly dried the prussic acid, being volatile, is 
dissipated, and they become harmless. 

Other Poisonous Species of Prunus. — Several other species of the 
genus Prunus similarly become poisonous. Among them are the cherry 
laurel {Prunus laurocerasus) of Europe, wild red cherry {Prunus pennsyl- 
vanica), found in rocky woods from Newfoundland to the Rocky moun- 
tains to Georgia, and Prunus demissa found on river banks from British 



68 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

Columbia to Idaho and California, also in the Black Hills of South Dakota. 
Many cases of poisoning have been recorded from persons eating the seeds 
of bittei almonds and peaches. 

Bibliography 

.'\ldous, a. E.: Eradicating Tall Larkspur on Cattle Ranges in the National Forests. 
Farmers' Bulletin 826, U. S. Department of Agriculture, August, 191 7. 

Anon.: Poisoning of Cattle Jjy Acorns. Gardeners' Chronicle & Agricultural Gazette, 
1870, 482 (September 5)-. 

Anon: Uses and Distribution of the Pokeberry (P/ry/o/arra decandra). The Garden 
Vr, 508-509, Nov. 28, 1874. 

Chestnut, V. K.: Principal Poisonous Plants of the United States. Bulletin 20, 
Division of Botany, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1898, pages 21-27; Pre- 
liminary Catalogue of Plants Poisonous to Stock. Annual Report, Bureau of 
Animal Industry, 1898, pages 398-403; Thirty Poisonous Plants of the United 
States. Farmers' Bulletin 86, U. S. Department of Agriculture, pages 9-14; 
Some Poisonous Plants of the Northern Stock Ranges. Yearbook of the U. S. 
Department of Agriculture, 1900; 314-318. 

Chestnut, V. K. and Wilcox, E. V.: Stock-poisoning Plants of Montana. Bulletin 
26, Division of Botany, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1901, pages 65-80. 

Crawford, Albert C: The Larkspurs as Poisonous Plants. Bulletin in. Part i, 
Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1907. 

Hall, Harvey M. and Gates, Harry S.: Stock Poisoning Plants of California. Bull- 
etin 249, College of Agriculture, Agricultural Experiment Station, Berkeley, 
California, 1915, pages 229-232. 

Harshberger, John W.: Ranunculus acris, An Additional Poisonous Plant. Bo- 
tanical Gazette, 19, 159; Garden and Forest, 7, 170. 

Long, Harold C: Plants Poisonous to Live Stock. Cambridge at the University 
Press, 1917, pages 9-21, etc. 

Marsh, C. D.: Stock Poisoning Plants of the Range. Bulletin 575, U. S. Dept. of 
Agriculture, 1919 with colored plates. 

Marsh, C. D., Clawson, A. B. and Marsh, H.: Larkspur Poisoning of Live Stock. 
Bulletin 365, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Sept. 8, 1916. 

Marsh, C. D., Clawson, A. B., Marsh, H. : Larkspur or Poison Weed. Farmers' 
Bulletin 988, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 19 18. 

Pammel, L. H.: Manual of Poisonous Plants, Bart II, 191 1, pages covering description 
of the above mentioned plants. 

Laboratory Work 

I. The students with the outline of plant description before them should describe 
fresh, or dried, specimens of the poke, corncockle, aconite, butter cup, marsh marigold, 
larkspur, mayapple, columbine, poppy and wild black cherry. Flowers of these plants 



DICOTYLEDONS AS POISONOUS PLANTS 69 

can be kept in alcohol for winter study and many of them can be obtained in Europe and 
in eastern and western America. 

2. Apply the delicate Dunstan and Carr test for aconitin. A dilute solution of the 
alkaloid, even i part in 4000 parts of water, faintly acidulated with acetic acid, de- 
posits a red crystalline precipitate or the addition of a few drops of solution of potassium 
permanganate. This reaction is quite characteristic and extremely delicate. 

3. Morphin dissolved in concentrated sulphuric acid containing formaldehyde 
(2 drops of 40 per cent, solution to 3 c.c. of sulphuric acid) produces a fine violet to 
almost blue coloration (Marquis, 1900). 

4. Experimental work in pharmacology following the directions of Charles W. 
Greene, Experimental Pharmacology, pages 15 and 48, can be made with morphin and 
aconite. 



CHAPTER 7 
LOCO WEEDS AND OTHER POISONOUS PLANTS 

Black Locust — (Roblnia pseudo-acacia). — This is a tall forest tree of 
eastern North America with a rough bark, pinnately compound leaves. 
Its papilionaceous flowers are white, sweet-scented and borne in pendulous 
racemes. Its wood is hard and during the world war, 1914-18, was much 
sought after to make the wooden pins used in building the emergency 
fleet of wooden vessels. The bark and leaves of this tree contains a 
powerful poison which has proved fatal in a number of cases. The bark 
of this tree contains a toxic albumose and a toxic glucoside, named robitin, 
which has now been isolated by B . Tasaki and U. Tanaka. In the fresh bark 
one per cent, of the glucoside is present, and the toxic reaction is caused 
by a dose of 0.0015 gram in the horse and 0.02 gram in cattle. The reac- 
tion of robitin when injected into horses is exactly that produced by the 
fresh bark, and consists in dyspnoea, increase of secretions and excretions 
and paralysis of the hind quarters. The seeds also are poisonous. 

Symptoms. — The symptoms of poisoning are like those produced by 
belladonna and this is manifested in the cases of several horses that ate 
the bark off the tree for the animals had colic, tympanites and paralysis. 
The most prominent case where human beings were poisoned is given by 
Dr. Z. P. Emery. In March 1887, thirty-two boys inmates of the Brook- 
lyn Orphan Asylum were poisoned at one time by eating the bark of the 
tree. The symptoms were the vomiting of a ropy mucus, flushing of the 
face, dilated pupil, dryness of the throat, feeble pulse, extremities cool, face 
pale, vomiting of blood, cold extremities, heart feeble and intermittent, 
face deathly pale with stupor. A rash similar to that of belladonna poi- 
soning was present, but only temporary. A high-fever was noticed in the 
beginning. The treatment consisted of sinapisms over the stomach, 
subcarbonate of bismuth, camphor and brandy. 

BTOom{Cytisus {Sarothamnus) scoparius). — This European shrub is 
rather uncommon in America, but on Nantucket, Naushon and elsewhere 
it has been planted to hold embankments. It has also become adventive 
on the Pacific coast. The tough, wiry stems are dark green and the leaves 

70 



LOCO WEEDS AND OTHER POISONOUS PLANTS 



71 



are trifoliate. The alkaloid in the plant is cytisin C11H14N2O which occurs 
also in other species of Cytisus and in some other leguminous plants. 
Spartein (C15H26N2), as a volatile alkaloid, if administered to rabbits in 
single doses, is sufficient to produce death. The symptoms of poisoning 
are those of narcotics resembling coniin, which causes paralysis of the 
central nervous system. 

Burma Bean {Java Bean, Paigya, (Phaseolus lunutus). — As some 
cargoes of Bui ma beans were found 
to be of a poisonous character, the 
Burma Department of Agriculture 
was urged to encourage the cultiva- 
tion of beans containing less cyanide 
than Phaseolus lunatus. As the result 
of experiments reviewed in Bulletin 
79 of the Agricultural Research 
Institute, Pusa, it has been found 
that the Madagascar beans are not 
suitable for replacing the Pe-gya and 
Pe-byangale beans so largely grown 
in Burma, and moreover after two 
years cultivation their prussic acid 
content increased. From tests made 
with common cultures of the Paigya 
bean, it is concluded that those with 
a low hydrogen cyanide content give 
low figures when grown in different 
localities, but the content varies con- 
siderably with different soil and cli- 
matic conditions. The Prussic acid 
is developed from a cyanogenetic glucoside, phaseolunatin (CiuHiyOeN). 
The colored forms of beans yield the largest amount of hydrocyanic acid. 

Lupines {Lupinus spp.). — The lupines have been known from the 
earliest times and their value as a fodder crop was recognized. Bread 
was also made out of lupine meal by the ancient Egyptians. Pliny men- 
tions the use of lupine seeds in medicine. Poisoning by lupines were 
noted as early as i860, but in 1872, following heavy losses of sheep in 
northern Germany, considerable attention was given to the poisonous 
properties of lupine hay. In this country from 1899 on, the experimental 




Fig. 28. — Lupine (^Lupinus leucophyl- 
lus) . One-half natural size. (After Hall, 
Harvey M. and Gates, Harry S.: Stock 
Poisoning Plants of California. Bull. 249, 
University of California Agricultural 
Experiment Station, 1915, p. 237. 



72 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL 1U)TA>A' 

studies of Chestnut, Wilcox, the Marshes and Clawson have thrown 
considerably light upon the subject of lupinosis (Fig. 28). 

Loss of Animals. — Sheep have mainly suffered from feeding upon the 
lupines and the losses have been heavy, but horses, cattle, goats, swine and 
fallow deer have been poisoned and experiments with small animals show 
that none were immune to the toxic substances. The losses in Europe 
have in some years been very great. In 1880 in Pomerania, the loss of 
sheep was almost 6 per cent. The loss of sheep in America has been heavy. 
Chestnut and Wilcox (1901) cite that of 2,000 sheep pastured over a 
region rich in lupine plants, 1,000 sheep were sick and 700 died. In 
another locality, 1,150 animals died out of a flock of 2500. 

Nature of Poisons. — Lupinus luteus the European species, which 
has been investigated most carefully contains two alkaloids, lupinin (C21 
H40N2O2) and lupinidin (CsHuN). Investigations in Europe, how- 
ever, suggest that these alkaloids are not responsible, but that the active 
substance is ictrogen formed as the result of the growth of microorganisms 
upon the plant. Investigation of American species has failed to show the 
presence of ictrogen, but the American lupines contain alkaloids which 
are toxic or fatal, if a sufficient quantity of the plant is consumed. The 
lupine alkaloids produce a stimulation and then paralysis of the respira- 
tory and vasomotor centers, some convulsive centers, the vagus end 
mechanism and perhaps the vagus center. Large doses given intra- 
venously paralyze the heart muscles. The fatal doses for rabbits by the 
stomach are between 30 and 50 grams per kg. of the seeds of Lupinus 
leucophyllus and L. sericeus and between 70 and 100 grams per kg. for the 
seed of Lupinus cyaneus. The cause of death is paralysis of the respira- 
tion. The seeds are the most poisonous, then in order the pods and the 
leaves. 

Symptoms. — Sheep poisoned by lupine froth at the mouth, their 
breathing is heavy and labored, subsiding into a condition of coma, the 
animal falling over as in a deep sleep. In acute cases, there is dyspnoea 
with the tongue and mouth cyanotic and the peripheral blood-vessels 
congested. Sometimes in these attacks of dyspnoea the animal dies in 
convulsions. In other cases, the animal dies in coma. The convulsive 
attacks of dyspnoea, however, may be considered typical of lupine poison- 
ing. Dropping of the ears is an early symptom and in many cases the 
poisoned animal is continuallly pushing its head against surrounding 
objects. When affected on the range, they run about in a frenzied 



LOCO WEEDS AND OTHER POISONOUS PLANTS 



73 



way, butting into other animals and objects. If the sheep does not die in 
the period of excitement, it staggers until it falls, then lies in a stupor, 
which in fatal cases gradually grows more pronounced. The pulse and 
respiration are very high in the acute stages of poisoning, but there is no 
effect on the temperature except in prolonged cases where the temperature 




Fig. 29. — Loco Weed (Aragallus (Oxylropis) Lamberti) natural size. (After Blank- 
inship, J. W.: The Loco and some other poisonous plants in Montana Agricultural 
Experiment Station, 1903, p. 80, originally after U. S. Department, of Agriculture.) 



gradually falls to between 98° and 99°F. The symptoms may appear in 
I or 2 hours after the food is eaten, or in other cases nearly 24 hours may 
elapse. Death may follow quickly, or the animal may live for 2 or 3 days. 
The result of autopsies show the peripheral blood vessels strongly 
congested. The left heart is strongly contracted, the lungs and liver 



74 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



congested. The blood-vessels of the brain are congested, as well, as 
those of the inner wall of the ileum. With horses the general symptoms 
noticed are twitching of the surface muscles, constipation, dullness, and 
a tendency when walking to lift the fore feet high. 

Stemless Loco Weed {Aragallns (Oxyiropis) Lambertii). — This is a^ 
perennial herb arising from a vertical thick, persistent tap root and with 
radical, compound leaves with 11-17 narrowly lanceolate leaflets. The 
racemes are erect, elongate and bear white to dark bluish-purple papihon- 
aceous flowers succeeded by an erect, lance-oblong pod (.Fig. 29). The 




Pig. 30. — Map of the United States, showing the distribution of the stemless loco 
weed. {Aragallus Lamberli). {After Farmers' Bulletin 380, 1909, p. 9, The Loco Weed 
Disease.) 



plant is distributed over the plains region from Alberta and Assiniboia 
in Canada south into Mexico, and from Minnesota and Kansas westward 
to the Rocky mountains (Fig. 30). Plants bloom in Colorado in the latter 
part of April. In parts of Colorado, Wyoming and Montana at the time 
of flowering, large areas are as white as though covered with snow 

(Fig- 31)- 

Wooly Loco Weed (Astragalus mollissimus). — This perennial herb is 
frequently designated as "stemmed," because it has a leafy stem, which is 
somewhat decumbent, bearing compound leaves with 23-29 leaflets 



LOCO WEEDS AND OTHER POISONOUS PLANTS 



75 



covered with silky-villous hairs, hence wooly. The bright-purple papili- 
onaceous flowers are borne in short racemes and are followed by cylindric 
pods about 2 cm. long. The geographic distribution of this plant partly 
overlaps that of the first mentioned loco weed. It ranges from South 
Dakota south to Mexico and through western Nebraska, Kansas, Okla- 
homa, Texas, nearly the whole of New Mexico, eastern Arizona, Colorado 
and southwestern Wyoming. It grows on adobe soils in depressions 
rather than in elevated situations, occurring in patches covering several 



^K 


'jfthi mi 




1^ --IIF 


- ■'■'""' ■*" *jiriipy'3»k ^99^"t^' ~^ 


WP^I^T°*X: -^ 





Fig. 31. — Stemless loco-weed (Aragallus (Oxytropis) Lamherti) on cattle range of 
the western plains. {After photograph reproduced as cover illustration of Marsh, C. 
Dwight: The Loco-weed Disease, Farmers' Bulletin 1054, July, 1919.) 

acres, rather than in continuous stretches of country. It blooms in 
Colorado about June i, but further south in New Mexico, it flowers as 
early as April. 

Blue Loco Weed or Rattleweed {Astragalus diphystis = Cystium di- 
physum). — This perennial herb is more western and southwestern in its 
distribution than the other two loco weeds. It ranges through Colorado, 
New Mexico, Arizona extreme southern Nevada and southern California, 
and is the common loco weed, or rattleweed, of New Mexico and Arizona. 



70 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



It is very dififerent in its appearance from the former two loco plants. 
The stems are ascending, or decumbent, 2-4 in. high becoming small ovate 
to oblong leaflets, 19-21 in number to each compound leaf. The plant has 
in its vegetative condition a rough resemblance to alfalfa. The flowers 
are produced in a dense spike and are blue, purple, or violet in color. 
The pods are inflated, hence bladder-like and in the immature sta e are 
streaked with purple. 

Loco Weeds in General. — The three plants described above are usually 
considered together as loco weeds. They have occasioned the poisoning 
of horses, cattle and sheep in the field. The wooly loco weed poisons horses 
generally, and is rarely injurious to cattle, which will not eat the plant 




Fig. 32.- — Case 8. Siclt pasiureil on stemless loco-weed (A, L.f,.i,.u.^ Lamberli.) 
Showing the effect of the plant in leaping unnecessarily high in going over a rut in 
the road. {After Marsh, C. Dwight: The Loco-weed Disease of the Plains, Bulletin 112, 
Bureau of Animal Industry, Plate III, Fig. 4, June 28, 1909.) 

readily. Horses as a rule begin to feed upon the plant when they are short 
of food. Both the wooly and stemless loco weeds are green during the 
winter, when all the plains grasses are dry and brown. Hence, they are 
especially dangerous in the spring, when the horses and cattle are turned 
out to pasture. Once the animals feed upon the plant, they acquire the 
habit and this shows the development of a depraved appetite, which was 
attributed by some to the presence of tape worms. 

Symptoms. — The symptoms of poisoning in horses are quite marked. 
A high-spirited horse becomes dull followed by irregular gait and irregular 
mode of feeding. The horse drags its feet more or less (Fig. 33). Asso- 
ciated with this partial paralysis is an apparent loss of muscular control 



LOCO WEEDS AND OTHER POISONOUS TLyVNTS 



77 




Fig. 33- — Case 525. Horse showing peculiar gait which is exhibited by an animal 
which has been locoed. After Marsh, C. Dwight: The Loco-weed Disease of the Plains, 
Bulletin 112, Bureau of Animal Industry, Plate V, Fig. 3, June 25, 1909.) 




Pig. 34. — Case 525. Locoed horse rearing when suddenly startled by a hat thrown 
out in front of it, August 23, 1905. This horse was very poor, being Httle but skin and 
bones, with rough coat and shaggy mane and tail. • (After Marsh, C. Dwight: The Loco- 
weed Disease of the Plains, Bulletin 112, Bureau of Animal Industry, Plate V, Fig. 4, 
June 25, 1909.) 



78 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

the animal stepping high (Fig. 32) in approaching a stone; or a rut in the 
road, and shies at imaginary objects (Fig. 34). As the disease progresses, 
the animal seeks solitude, rearing up if approached. The jaws have a 
stiff motion in eating, or drinking. The animal loses flesh, its coat be- 
comes rough, it ceases to eat and soon dies. The symptoms of locoed cat- 
tle are similar to those of locoed horses. There is the same lack of mus- 
cular control, a violently shaking head, frantic running into obstructions. 
A locoed animal is almost impossible to drive, as it is likely to run into the 
driver, and in the opposite direction. Locoed cattle have staring eyes, 
rough coats and gradually lose flesh. They go to water less and less fre- 
quently and eventually die of starvation. 

The symptoms of poisoning in sheep are not so marked as with horses 
and cattle. Locoed sheep are generally more weak, stumbling, falling and 
rising again with difl&culty. Post-mortem examinations show accumula- 
tions of coagulated serum in a gelatinous form in various parts of the body 
especially about the heart and spinal column. The nervous system in 
locoed animals is more richly supplied with blood than in normal animals. 

Cause of Locoism. — The specific cause of poisoning by loco weeds was 
sought early in the presence of some toxic substance, in the plants, but 
chemical analysis failed to reveal such. Recourse was then made to the 
presence of tapeworms in the alimentary tract of various animals, but 
these can hardly be the real cause of the characteristic symptoms of 
locoism. Dr. Albert C. Crawford from his laboratory work concludes; 
"The symptoms in stock on the range can be reproduced in rabbits by 
feeding extracts of certain loco plants. It is the inorganic constituents, 
especially barium, which are responsible for this poisonous action. There 
is a close analogy between the clinical symptoms and pathological find- 
ings in barium poisoning and those resulting from feeding extracts of 
certain of these plants. Small doses of barium salts may be administered 
to rabbits without apparent effect, but suddenly acute symptoms develoj) 
analogous to those reported on the ranges." Marsh dismisses the previ- 
ously suggested causes of the disease, other than the plants themselves, 
as having no reasonable basis as to render rtiem tenable. The adminis- 
tration of sulphates, especially epsom salts to form the insoluble barium 
sulphate, is suggested by the above discovery of the inorganic cause of 
the loco disease. The dose used in experiments with mature cattle was 
about one pound given in the form of a drench. For horses, the dose 
should be about 8 ounces and for full-grown sheep 4 ounces. To improve 



LOCO WEEDS AND OTHER POISONOUS PLANTS 7*9 

the nervous condition of the horses, Fowler's solution in daily doses of 
4 to 6 drams in the drinking water was found best. The use of strych- 
nin was found best for cattle. Sodium cacodylate administered hypo- 
dermically to cattle in injections of 6 grains, or 0.4 gram, daily gave 
beneficial results. Recovery is generally shown with chronically locoed 
animals. Loco weeds may be destroyed by cutting off below the crown of 
buds, because sprouting is rendered impossible. 

Rattle-box {Crotalaria sagittalis). — This is an annual plant growing 
3 inches to a foot high with small straight root and branched stem with 
yellow flowers and an inflated pod, which finally contains a lot of loose seeds 
which rattle about when the pod is dry. The plant is distributed from 
Maine to Minnesota, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, and northern Texas. 
It is very common on the sandbars of the Missouri Rivejr, hence_^the '^disease 
produced by it which resembles in general that induced by loco weeds, is 
known as the Missouri Bottom Disease. Animals have been locoed 
by. eating rattle-box in New Jersey. 

Box (Buxtis sempervirens) . — This is a tall, evergreen shrub with small, 
dark-green, leathery, elliptical leaves. The flowers are small and rather 
inconspicuous. The shrub has been used for hedges in old-fashioned 
gardens and has been much planted in cemeteries. All parts of the 
plant are bitter and poisonous. Animals, horses and pigs, may browse 
upon box, or eat the hedge trimmings and be killed. Buxin is the toxic 
alkaloid, while three other substances have been isolated from the plant. 
Small amounts of box have an emetic and purgative action. The symp- 
toms of poisoning are nervous symptoms, lameness, muscular tremors, 
vertigo, then a period of coma. Large amounts cause death preceded by 
intense abdominal pains, dysentery, tenesmus, convulsions, circulatory 
and respiratory troubles. Pigs are most susceptible displaying thirst, 
uncertain movements, delirium. Death occurs in twenty-four hours. 

Spurges {Euphorbia spp.).— The spurges are erect, spreading or pros- 
trate herbs, with milky, acid juice and opposite, or alternate leaves, the 
upper in whorls and frequently colored at the tops. The acrid, milky 
juice is poisonous, but poisoning cases are rare because cattle usually 
rarely eat of them because the taste is repulsive. Euphorbia marginata 
is one of the many species in the United States. In Texas, it is used in 
the branding of cattle. The seeds of this species have proved nearly 
fatal to children that have eaten them. Dr. Millspaugh gives the physio- 
logical action of the caper spurge {Euphorbia Lathyris) as staring, wide- 



8o PASTORAL AxNU ACiKlCULTURAL BOTANY 

open eyes, dilated pupils, death-like pallor, retching and vomiting, violent 
purgation, frequent stools, copious and in some cases bloody, irregular 
pulse, whole body cold and rigid, succeeded by heat and perspiration. 
Country people in England have used the fruits of this plant as a purge 
and as a pickle, but their poisonous character renders them dangerous. 
Cows that have eaten of the spurges give a reddish or sharp-tasting milk 
and the milk of aflfected goats caused diarrhoea in human beings. 

Castor Oil Plant (Ricinus communis) . — The palma christi is an annual 
plant in temperate regions, but in the tropics it becomes a small, perennial 
tree. Its leaves are large, broad, palmately lobed and veined. Its 
flowers are borne in separate clusters, as pistillate and staminate on the 
same plant. The fruit is covered with soft spines and the seeds contained 
therein are provide4 with a terminal spongy mass of tissue, the carunculus. 
The seeds are albuminous with an oily reserve food. The oil expressed 
from the seeds is the medicinal castor oil with strongly purgative proper- 
ties. The seeds, as a whole, are poisonous and were used in Europe by 
farmers to poison recalcitrant sheep, that developed the habit of jumping 
fences into strange pasture fields. Pigs and poultry have been poisoned 
by eating the seeds. The press cake was the cause of the death of 80 
sheep, as reported by M. Audibert near Beaucaire, France. 

Poisonous Principles. — Ricin is the toxic body similar to bacterial 
toxins. Animals can be immunized by the use of an antitoxic body anti- 
ricin. Ricinin (CSH8O2N0) is an alkaloid obtained from the seeds. Its 
toxic action is doubtful. Symptoms of poisoning appear some days after 
ingestion of the beans or press-cake. Purging is marked. In the case of 
horses, they lose their appetite, shiver, have cold extremities, dejection, 
abdominal pain, constipation with a temperature of io3°F. and a pulse of 
70. Death follows in about three days. 

Poison Ivy. — {Rhus radicans, Rhus Toxicodendron). — The poison ivy 
is a vine which climbs up the trunks of trees by short aerial roots, or 
grows in a spreading prostrate manner over the ground, over stone piles, 
or the dunes along the seashore. An upright form of the plant is occa- 
sionally seen. Its leaves are trifoliately compound, lustrous green turn- 
ing to a red in autumn. Its flowers are greenish-yellow and its drupace- 
ous fruits white. The plant is poisonous at all seasons of the year as the 
writer has been poisoned in midwinter by forcing his way through brush 
over which this ivy had grown. It is especially virulent after a rain on a 
hot summer's day, when one is actively perspiring. Contact with the 
plant seems to be necessary to induce poisoning. There is a current belief 



LOCO WEEDS AND OTHER POISONOUS PLANTS 8 1 

that the wind blowing toward a person from a patch of poison ivy is suflEi- 
cient to produce the usual rash on the skin of susceptible persons, but in 
all likelihood such persons have crushed the plant under foot and in re- 
moving their shoes before going to bed have removed the active principle 
from the surface of the leather. They may also have inadvertently 
touched the plant in passing by it. The smoke from brush fires in which 
poison ivy has been placed will cause inflammation of the skin of face and 
hands. Susceptible persons in our large department stores, who unpack 
lacquer ware imported from Japan, frequently have the characteristic 
dermatitis, as the lacquer is made from the juice of a Japanese sumach, 
Rhus vernicifera, and the toxic oil is partially freed from the surface of the 
lacquered objects during their transportation in closed cases in which 
steaming may occur from one country to another in the holds of ocean 
steamers. The southern shrub, Rhtis Toxicodendron, was formerly con- 
sidered to be identical with the poison ivy, but recently the two species 
have been separated as Rhus radicans and Rhus Toxicodendron. The 
poison ivy ranges from Nova Scotia to Minnesota, Florida, Arkansas and 
Nebraska, while the shrubby, Rhus Toxicodendron, the poison oak, is 
found from North CaroHna south to Florida and southwestward to Texas. 

A third shrub, known as poison sumach, poison oak, poison elder, 
poison dogwood, thunder-wood is Rhus Vernix which is found in swamps 
from Ontario and Minnesota south to Florida and Louisiana. It is more 
virulent than the other two species mentioned above. It grows to be a 
small freely branching tree. It has large pinnately compound leaves, 
panicles of greenish yellow flowers and large, white, shining drupes pro- 
duced in open clusters. The California poison ivy, Rhus diversiloba is 
found on the Pacific Coast from California to Washington. It is an 
erect, or climbing, nearly smooth shrub with compound leaves of three to 
five leaflets and flowers in loose axillary panicles with white fruit.' A key 
will enable one to distinguish these four species of Rhus. ' 

Eastern and Southern Species. 

A. Leaves trifoliate; vines or low shrubs. 

Vine climbing by aerial roots. 

Drupes 5-6 mm. in diameter. Rhus radicans 
Upright shrubs. 

Drupes 6-7 mm. in diameter Rhus Toxicodendron 

B. Leaves pinnately 7-11 leaflets; tall shrub, or small tree Rhus 

Vernix. 



82 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

Western Species {Pacific Coast) 

Leaves trifoliate to 5-foliate Rhus diversiloba. Rhus Metopium,^ 
poison wood or doctor-gum of the south is a tree with poisonous juices. 

Susceptibility. — As hundreds of persons are poisoned every year by 
coming into contact with these plants, it is important to discover the causa- 
tive principle. Immunity from the attack of the poison of these species 
is relative. Some persons usually those with a blonde complexion are 
very susceptible. Others are less so, while a large number of persons 
usually with dark, or swarthy complexions (brunette type) are practically 
immune. 

Active Principle. — Experiments (1897) of Dr. Franz Pfaff of Harvard 
University Medical School have shown that the poison is a fixed oil, 
toxicodendrol, closely allied to cardol from the cashew-nut, Anacar- 
diiim occidentalis. It is soluble in alcohol, ether, benzene, and chloroform. 
It produces an insoluble compound with lead. It is found in all parts of 
the plants described above. It is insoluble in water and therefore cannot 
be washed off the skin with water alone. 

The active principle is poisonous to the skin causing inflammation and 
pustular eruptions known as dermatitis. Small watery vesicles appear 
on the skin of the hands usually on the soft skin between the fingers. These 
vesicles may be scattered in mild cases, as they may be very numerous. 
Usually the eruptions are accompanied by inflammation and itchiness, 
and the tendency is to scratch the inflamed areas. In severe cases the 
pustules cover extensive areas with a swollen condition of the parts and 
redness. Occasionally, if the skin about the eyes is poisoned, the eyelids 
swell so that the eyes are entirely closed. Later the vesicles are ruptured 
and their fluid contents are discharged upon the surface forming moist, 
excoriated surfaces covered in part with crusts. Where the inflammation 
reaches the mucous membranes of the internal organs by way of the ex- 
cretory passages the consequences may be very serious. Death has been 
the result of ivy poisoning- in relatively a few cases. 

Remedies. — The most efficient remedy that has been found is a vigor- 
ous washing and scrubbing of the skin of the affected parts with soap and 
water using a brush for the purpose. This washes off the poisonous oil 
before it has a chance to act upon the skin. The oil may also be removed by 
washing with alcohol, but the washing must be thorough in order not to 
spread the infection. Such simple remedies as washing the skin with hot 
salt water, rubbing the juices of rib grass (Plantago lanceolata) the leaves 



LOCO WEEDS AND OTHER POISONOUS PLANTS 83 

of touch-me-not (Impatiens) and bean leaves upon the part exposed 
to the poison have been used. They are beneficial, although perhaps not 
curative in their action. Dr. Pfaff recommends the use of an alcoholic 
solution of sugar of lead (50 or 70 per cent, alcohol). The writer has used 
all of these remedies with relief to the inflamed parts. In only one case 
has his eyelids been swollen shut when he was a little boy not fully con- 
scious of the virulency of the plants near which he played. 

Desensitization. — Recently Schamberg, a Philadelphia physician has 
discovered a means of desensitizing persons against ivy poison. The 
method of treatment which he has devised is to administer the medicine 
in half a glass of water after meals. The formula is Tincture of Rhus 
toxicodendron i cc, rectified spirit 5 cc. and syrup or elixir of orange 
100 cc. and it is used as follows: 

Breakfast, drops Lunch, drops Dinner, drops 

123 

456 

78 9 

10 II 12 

13 14 IS 

16 17 18 

19 20 21 

Immunity established after one months administration will persist for 
about a month afterward. The same mixture exerts a favorable influence 
when given as a prevention and in abbreviating the duration of the attack. 
Destruction. — The destruction of the poison ivy, which owes its 
widespread distribution to crows, can be accomplished by the applications 
of arsenate of soda at the rate of one half to one pound to five gallons of 
water is effective, but several applications are necessary. A solution 
containing one pound of white arsenic and two pounds of sal soda in five 
gallons of water may be used with similar results. Sulphate of iron one 
hundred pounds to a barrel of water has been found useful. Covering the 
poison ivy with tar paper creosoted below is effective, according to Dr. 
G. E. Stone. 

Bibliography 

Anon.: Ivy Poisoning. The Youth's Companion, Sept. 12, 1918, p. 466. 

Blankinship, J. W.: The Loco and Some Other Poisonous Plants in Montana. Bull- 
etin 45, Montana Experimental Station, 1903. 

Chestnut, V. K.: Some Common Poisonous Plants. Year Book of the U. S. De- 
partment of Agriculture, 1896; 137-146, 1908; Principal Poisonous Plants of the 



84 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

United States. Bulletin 20, Division of Botany, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 

1898; Thirty Poisonous Plants of the United States. Farmers' Bulletin 86, U. S. 

Department of Agriculture, 1898. 
Chestnut, V. K. and Wilcox, E. V.: Stock-poisoning Plants of Montana. Bulletin 

26, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1901. 
Crawford, Albert C: Laboratory Work on Loco-weed Investigations. Bulletin 

121, Bureau of Plant Indtistry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1908. 
Crawford, Albert C: Barium, a Cause of the Loco-weed Disease. Bulletin 129, 

Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1908. 
Hall, Harvey M. and Gates, Harry S.: Stock Poisoning Plants of California. Bull- 
etin 249, University of California, College of Agriculture, Agricultural E.xperiment 

Station, 1915. 
Harshberger, John W.: When is Rhus toxicodendron Most Active. Garden & 

Forest, 8, 239, 1895. 
Lerrigo, Charles H.: The Poison-ivy Victim, IMethods of Cure, Prevention and 

Immunization. The Country Gentleman, May 2, 1914, page 905. 
Long, Harold C: Plants Poisonous to Live Stock. Cambridge at the University 

Press, 191 7. 
Marsh, C. Dwight, Alsberg, C. L. and Black, O. F.: The Relation of Barium to the 

Loco-weed Disease. Bulletin 246, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Department of 

Agriculture, 191 2. 
Marsh, C. D., Clawson, A. B. and Marsh, H.adleigh: Lupines as Poisonous Plants. 

Bulletin 405, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Professional Paper, December 

5, 1916. 
Marsh, C. Dwight: The Loco-weed Disease of the Plains. Bulletin 112, Bureau of 

Animal Industry, 1909. 
Marsh, C. D.: Results of Loco-weed Investigation in the Field. Bulletin 121, Bureau 

of Plant Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1908. 
Marsh, C. D.: The Loco-weed Disease. Farmers' Bulletin 380 (1909) and 1054 

(1919), U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1919. 
Mohler, John R.: Cerebrospinal Meningitis ("Forage Poisoning"). Bulletin 65, 

U. S. Department of Agriculture, Feb. 14, 1914. 
Anon.: The Poisonous Bark of Black LocUst Tree. Nature, 103, 132, April 17, 1919; 

Tasaki, B. and Tanaka, U.: Journal of the College of Agriculture, University of 

Tokyo, III, No. 5, 337. 
Pammel, L. H.: Manual of Poisonous Plants, Part 2, 1911. 
Schamberg, Jay Frank: Desensitization of Persons Against Ivy Poison. Journal 

American Medical Assoc, 73, 1213, Oct. 18, 1919. 
Stabler, Harry Snovvden: A Poison-ivy Remedy, the Touch-Me-Not Weed as a Cure. 

The Country Gentleman, September 19, 1914) page 1573- 
Stone, George E.: Poison Ivy (Rhus toxicodendron L.). Nature Leaflet No. 9, Fourth 

Edition Revised, State Board of Agriculture, Massachusetts, June 3, 1915. 

Laboratory Work 

Suggestion to Teachers. — A supply of the plants described in this chapter should 
be kept in the dried state for distribution to the class. Some of the material (such 



LOCO WEEDS AND OTHER POISONOUS PLANTS 85 

as the flowers) may be kept in alcohol. Sections of the stems of one or two of the 
spurges should be kept in alcohol. European teachers can make selections of European 
plants mentioned in this chapter. The loco-weeds are found on the great plains and 
the rattlebox in the east, etc. 

Laboratory Exercises 

I. Describe the dried plant given you in all of its parts. The study of the flowers 
may be facilitated by the use of fresh or alcoholic material. This will emphasize the 
structure of the papilionaceous and euphorbiaceous flowers. 

3. Stain mount and study the longitudinal section of the stem of some spurge, as 
Euphorbia splendcns, to see the distribution and contents of the latex tubes. Other 
species of Euphorbia occurring in Europe and elsewhere may be substituted for this one. 

3. Examine and draw the seeds of the castor-oil, Ricinus communis. Draw the 
young seedlings previously started by the teacher by planting the seeds in sand, or 
sphagnum moss. Study the developmental stages of the same. 



CHAPTER 8 
MISCELLANEOUS DICOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS 

St. John's Wort {Hypericum perforatum). — This is a perennial, much- 
branched herb with sessile, elliptical leaves having punctate oil glands 
with a few purple-spotted ones. The yellow flowers are found in cymose 
clusters. The stamens are numerous, but arranged in five clusters 
(pentadelphous). 

Symptoms. — White-skinned cattle and sheep eating St. John's wort 
show an acute inflammation of the white skin, although dark skin remains 
unchanged. An entire herd of Holstein cattle has been seen with all the 
white skin hanging in sheets, while the black skin remained intact. The 
ears at times in sheep are greatly swollen, and if the eyes are effected total 
and permanent blindness may develop. If the animal is entirely white 
death may follow, as with extensive burns, the inflammation extending 
over three-fourths of the skin area. This plant is a decided hindrance to 
grazing in the French colonies of northern Africa, as in Tunis. Exposure 
to sunlight is necessary to the development of the curious symptoms of 
the disease, and animals rapidly recover, if they are protected from the 
direct rays of the sun, for it appears, as if the herb sensitizes the skin to 
the invisible chemical rays (the ultra violet) of the solar spectrum. Deaths 
of horses poisoned by this plant have been reported at Norwood, Maryland 
within a few years. As the herb preserves all its activities when dried, 
it may cause trouble, if fed in hay to horses. The treatment consists 
in blackening the white skin with a mixture of charcoal, linseed oil and 
lime water. This is applied with a brush and the animals are kept from 
sunlight and from eating St. John's wort. Cows pastured in a field with 
this plant, if white-nosed animals, have their udders crowded with erup- 
tions due to contact with the St. Johns wort especially on dewy mornings. 

The symptoms other than those reported above are dullness, a sinking 
of the head, loss of appetite, slackening of the pulse and respiration, dila- 
tion of the pupils, defective sight and purple lips. 

Poisonous Principle.- — The oil, which is responsible for the poisoning 
of the animals, is located in Httle glandular areas which give the leaf a 

86 



MISCELLANEOUS DICOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS 



87 



perforated appearance, when the leaf is held between the eye and the 
light. The purple coloring matter in the terminal glands has been isolated 
and named hypericum red. This dye is fluorescent in solution and much 
resembles certain aniline derivatives. 

English Ivy (Hedera helix). — This climbing plant makes the ascent 
of tree trunks, stone and brick walls by means of short, aerial roots. Its 
leaves are lobed, dark, lustrous, evergreen. The plant is not known to be 
poisonous to stock, but children 
have been poisoned by eating the 
berries. 

The plant contains a bitter 
principle with cathartic, emetic 
and purgative properties. A 
poisonous glucoside hederin 
(C64H104O19) and a resin is found 
in the English ivy. The 
symptoms produced in children 
were diarrhoea, nervous symp- 
toms resembling those of intoxica- 
tion, excitement at first, then coma, 
convulsions, uncertain gait, ster- 
torou^respiration and paralysis. 

Water Hemlock, Oregon 
Hemlock and European Hemlock 
{Cicuta maculata, C. vagans and 
C. virosa). 

Descripiion. — These plants of 
the family Umbellifer^ 
(Apiace^) are also known as 
cowbane, musquash root, musk- 
rat weed. The American cow- 
bane, Cicuta maculata, has tuberous rootstocks from which arise in 
swampy situations a stem one to two meters tall bearing twice to thrice 
compound leaves. The leaf segments are lanceolate, or ellyptic-lanceolate, 
acuminate, coarsely serrate. The flowers are white borne in compound 
umbels subtended by linear-subulate bracts. This species ranges from 
New Brunswick to Manitoba to Virginia and Texas. The western 
species, Cicuta vagans, is found about lakes, in wet meadows and swamps 




Fig. 35. — Water hemlock {Cicula octi- 
dentalis). One-half natural size. (After 
Hall, Harvey M. and Gates, Harry S.: Stock 
Poisoning Plants of California Agricultural 
Experiment Station, 1915, p. 223.) 



88 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

from British Columbia, Montana, Idaho to California. Besides Cicuta vi- 
osa, the European species, and the above-mentioned, the following species 
of Cicuta have been reported as poisonous: C. hulbijera, C. Bolanderi, C. 
occidentalis (P'ig. 35), C. calif ornica, C. Curtisii, C. Douglasii, C. purpurea, 
and C. lenuifoUa. 

Cases and Symptoms. — The number of cases of cowbane poisoning in 
Europe has been large. In this country also, especially in the East, the 
number of cases reported by physicians has been considerable. The 
writer's personal acquaintance with poisoning by the cowbane of the 
eastern states, Cicuta maculata, began with the receipt of specimens of 
rhizome received from Dr. G. A. Ricketts of Smithmill, Pa., on April 2, 
191 2. Excerpts from his letter of March 31, 191 2 are here given. "Yes- 
terday, March 30 (11 to 12 M.) Chester Mulhollen, aged 8, Willard Mul- 
hollen, aged 10 and Harold Fun aged 9 mistook these tubers for artichokes. 
They ate of them for about half an hour, consuming I suppose about as 
much as I mail to you. All three became suddenly ill a few minutes 
after they stopped eating. Chester M. started toward the house about 
100 feet distant and fell in the door in a convulsion, never regaining con- 
sciousness. Harold F. dropped where he was in convulsions. Willard 
M. became ill a few minutes later, and acteli exactly like the others. The 
neighbors induced vomiting in the two latter, but were unable to force 
Chester to swallow. He did not vomit at any time. Chester died at 
3 p. M. The other two are recovering rapidly. Today both are able 
to walk about, and have no pain. I did not reach the scene until two 
hours after the convulsions began. The boys were totally unconscious 
and do not remember anything that happened after becoming ill. Their 
pupils were widely dilated, the iris hardly visible. They had a slow weak 
pulse, 30 to 50 per minute. Vomiting was induced. No purging occurred. 
The facial muscles contracted rapidly. Their eyelids would almost snap 
with eyeballs protruding. Eyes turned inwardly. Extreme cyanosis 
during the spasms. Jaws set so that it was almost impossible to force 
the mouth open at any time. Convulsions almost continuous, both tonic 
and clonic. All the muscles were rigid. The poisoning resembled that 
of strychnin to some extent. Convulsions ceased in Willard and Harold 
about half an hour after becoming ill. Women of the neighborhood gave 
ipecac with milk and eggs before vomiting began. Chester's spasms 
never ceased until death. Please let me hear from you at your earliest 
convenience. I hope that you can identify the plant and inform me the 



MISCELLANEOUS DICOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS 89 

kind of poison it contains." An account of this case was published in 
the daily press, but a full account, somewhat incorrect, appeared in the 
Lancaster Intelligencer under date of May 13, 1912, with the heading 
"A Death Dealing Plant. Warning to Woodland Wanderers by the 
State Health Department." The loss of stock by Cicuta poisoning has 
been considerable in the United States, although the data is inaccurate 
and incomplete. One man in Oregon, presumably estimating the loss in 
his immediate neighborhood, makes it 10 per cent. Slade, 1903, esti- 
mates a loss of a hundred cattle a year in Oregon. Chestnut and Wilcox, 
1 90 1, say that in 1900 in Montana 30 head of cattle and 80 head of sheep 
were lost. 

Poisonous Principles. — If one cuts open the rootstock of any of the 
species of Cicuta drops of an aromatic oil exude, and they impart a peculiar 
odor to the plant. The poisonous principle is not the oil, but a resin, which 
has been isolated as cicutoxin. It has been studied by Boehm (1875-76), 
Wikzemski (1875) and Pohl (1894). It has been found to have properties 
similar to picrotoxin and with these two toxicologists usually group 
coriamyrtin, oenanthotoxin and santonin. This poisonous principle, 
according to Kunkel (1901), is a clear, brown, sticky resin with an acid 
reaction and which does not harden when dried. It is soluble in alcohol, 
chloroform, ether and dilute alkalis and is precipitated by acids from 
alkaline solutions. Injected subcutaneously, by Wikzemski in 1875 into 
frogs, it produced clonic-toxic convulsions of the whole body, and in 
doses of 4 to 6 milligrams of the ether extract, it killed the frogs with 
paralysis. The action of the poison is limited to the central nervous 
system, that of the heart and organs of respiration are influenced second- 
arily. The principal effect of cicutoxin is upon the "convulsion center" 
at the end of the medulla oblongata. The upper part of the brain is not 
affected, while the terminal paralysis of the spinal cord results from the 
complete exhaustion following the convulsions. 

Although the rootstocks are perhaps the most virulent parts of the 
plant, yet, the leaves stems and basal parts or the plant contain sufficient 
poison, especially in the early stages of growth, to produce death. The 
plant is probably most poisonous in the spring, when the Mulhollen boys 
were poisoned. Where the soil has been puddled by the trampling of 
cattle in the swamps, where the cowbane grows, the resin is evidently 
freed into the pools of water, which if taken by the animal to relieve thirst 
produces poisoning. Gadd as early as 1774 related in some detail a case 
of poisoning of cattle from drinking water in which were Cicuta roots. 



90 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

Remedies. The older authors noticed that if the eating of cowbane 
was followed by vomiting the patient usually recov^ered fsee ante). The 
logical remedy, therefore, is an emetic. When the convulsions are 
violent some opiate should be administered. Chestnut and Wilcox 
recommended hypodermic injections of morphin to control the convul- 
sions, giving sheep i) 2 grams and cattle and horses 3 to 10 grams. A 
purgative would doubtless help to rid the system of the poison. 

Poison Hemlock (Coniuni maculatum). — The poison hemlock is the 
classical poisonous plant naturalized from Europe into America, where it 
ranges in waste places from Canada to Indiana, California, Utah and Mex- 
ico. It is an erect, much-branched herb, 6-15 decimeters tall. Its lower 
and basal leaves are petioled, while its upper are usually sessile. All of 
the leaves are pinnately dissected into ovate leaflets with dentate margin. 
The umbels are broad with white flowers. Its fruit is 3 mm. long and 2 
mm. wide with its ribs very prominent when dry. 

Poisons. — The plant is very poisonous containing an alkaloid coniin 
(CsHitN), which is volatile in vapor of alcohol, or water, and somewhat 
volatile at ordinary temperatures. It has an alkaline reaction and a 
burning taste and causes dilation of the pupil. Two other principal 
alkaloids have been isolated: Conicein (CsHisN) said to be eighteen 
times more poisonous than coniin and conhydrin (CsHiyNO). Fresh 
leaves contain 0.095 P^r cent, of coniin and the ripe seed 0.7 per cent. 

Symptoms. — The symptoms in man are due to a general and gradual 
weakening of the muscular power. The power of sight is often lost, 
but the mind, as in the case of Socrates quoted below, remains clear until 
death ensues, as it does from the gradual paralysis of the lungs. There 
are no convulsions. Many domestic animals have been killed by eating 
the plant. The symptoms for cows being the loss of appetite, salivation, 
bloating, much bodily pain, loss of muscular power, and rapid, feeble 
pulse. 

Socrates and the Plant.- — As the death of the ancientGreek philosopher 
Socrates is usually associated with this plant the following account is of 
interest. The form of the indictment of Socrates was as follows: Meletus, 
the son of Meletus, of the deme Pitthis, on his oath brings the following 
accusation against Socrates, the son of Sophioniscus of the deme Alopece. 
Socrates commits a crime by not believing in the gods of the city and, by 
introducing other new divinities. He also commits a crime by corrupting 
the youth. Penalty, death. He is condemned by a vote of 281 to 220. 



MISCELLANEOUS DICOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS 91 

The following account of the drinking of decoction of the poison hemlock 
and the last conversations of the philosopher with his friends is taken from 
the last part of the Phaedo. 

Then Crito made a sign to his slave, who was standing by, and the slave 
went out, and after some delay returned with the man who was to give 
the poison, carrying it prepared in a cup. When Socrates saw him, he 
asked, "You understand these things, my good sir, what have I to do?" 
''You have only to drink this," he replied, and "to walk about until your 
legs feel heavy, and then lie down, and it will act of itself." With that 
he handed the cup to Socrates, who took it quite cheerfully. Socrates, 
without trembling, and without any change of color of feature, looked 
up at the man with that fixed glance of his and asked, "what say you to 
making a libation from this draught? May I, or not?" "We only 
prepare so much as we t,hink sufficient, Socrates," he answered. "I 
understand said Socrates. But I suppose that I may, and must, pray to 
the Gods that my journey hence may be prosperous: that is my prayer 
be it so." With these words he put the cup to his lips and drank the poison 
quite lively and cheerfully. Till then most of us had been able to con- 
trol our grief fairly well; but when we saw him drinking, and then the 
poison finished, we could do so no longer: my tears came first in spite of 
myself, and I covered my face and wept for myself: it was not for him, 
but at my own misfortune in losing such a friend. Even before that 
Crito had been unable to restrain his tears and had gone away; and 
ApoUodorus, who had never once ceased weeping the whole time, burst 
into a loud cry, and made us one and all break down by his sobbing, and 
grief, except only Socrates himself, "what are you doing, my friends"? 
he exclaimed. "I sent away the women chiefly in order that they might 
not offend in this way; for I have heard that a man should die in silence. 
So calm yourselves and bear up." When we heard that, we were ashamed, 
and we ceased from weeping. But he walked about, until he said that his 
legs were getting heavy, and then he lay down on his back, as he was told. 
And the man who gave the poison began to examine his feet and legs, 
from time to time: than he pressed his foot hard, and asked if there was 
any feeling in it; and Socrates said, "No:" and then his legs, and so higher 
and higher, and showed us that he was cold and stiff. And Socrates felt 
himself, and said that when it came to his heart, he should be gone. He 
was already growing cold about the groin, when he uncovered his face, 
which had been covered, and spoke for the last time. "Crito, he said, 



92 



PASTORAL AND AGRJCULTURAL BOTANY 



I owe a cock to Asclepius: do not forget to pay it. " " It shall be done, " 
replied Crito. "Is there anything else that you wish?" He made no 
answer to this question; but after a short interval there was a movement, and 
the man uncovered him, and his eyes were fixed. Then Crito closed his 
mouth and his eyes. 

"Such was the end, Eshrecrates, of our friend, a man, I think, who 

was the wisest and justest, and the 
best man that I have ever known." 
Ericaceae. — This family includes 
a number of shrubs and under 
shrubs which are poisonous to stock. 
As they contain essentially the same 
poisonous principles, although 
belonging to different genera, they 
are described botanically first and 
cases of poisoning are cited after- 
wards. The general symptoms 
and the nature of the toxic principles 
are discussed also. 

Lamb Kill, Sheep-Laurel 
{Kalmia angustifolia). This is an 
underbush growing i8 inches to 2 
feet tall with opposite, or whorled, 
leaves, dark-green above, light- 
green beneath. The floweis are 
purple, or crimson, in umbels and 
the capsular fruit is persistent in 
whorls on the stems for a number 
of years (Fig. 36). The sheep- 
laurel is found in dry woods, or in 
wet soil from Newfoundland to 
Hudson Bay, south to Georgia and 
Michigan. It is common in the pine barrens of New Jersey and on the 
barren soils of the Pocono plateau of Pennsylvania. 

The leaves of this plant are said to be poisonous to sheep and calves, 
and cases of men being poisoned by eating the flesh of partridges which 
had fed on the buds and fruits have been reported. There is a general 
belief among farmers that the leaves of this plant are poisonous to lambs 




Fig. 36.— Fruiting branch of sheep 
laurel (Kalmia angustifolia) collected at 
Mays Landing, N. J., January 2, 1920. 
Successive whorls of fruits are shown of 
different ages. 



MISCELLANEOUS DICOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS 93 

and sheep, hence the common names, but direct evidence is lacking for 
this plant which we have for the broad-leaved species. 

Calico-bush, Mountain-laurel {Kahnia latifolia). This is a shrub 
growing 4 to 8 feet tall and with broad, evergreen, dark-green, lustrous 
leaves and a large umbel of white, pink, or rose-pink flowers with ten 




Pig. 37. — Mountain laurel {Kahnia latifolia). {After The Storrs and Harrison Co. 
{Painesville, Ohio) Catalogue, 1913.) 

explosive stamens placed in pockets of the cup-shaped corolla (Fig. 37). 
The fruit is a persistent small capsule (Fig. 38). 

Many cattle and sheep are poisoned annually by eating the leaves and 
tops of this shrub. On Nov. 13, 1918, the writer was taken by Dr. F. 
Boerner to see a herd of heifers on the Percival Roberts farm at Narberth, 



94 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

Penna., which had been poisoned by eating the leaves of this plant grow- 
ing in a piece of woodland into which the heifers had been turned to browse 
and which was usually closed to the feeding of cattle. All of the heifers 
in the herd were poisoned, but when the writer visited it, all of the ani- 
mals, but two, had partly recovered through the care of the veterinarian 
in charge, Dr. D. S. Deubler. The two heifers, which were still sufTering 
from the poison walked about with unsteady gait, they hung their heads 
low and showed a general lack of activity with considerable frothing at 
the mouth. All the animals of this herd recovered. 

Another case was of a number of educated or trained goats exhibited 
during Christmas week in the Philadelphia Dime Museum, the stage of 




Fig. 38. — Fruiting branch of laurel (Kalmia lalifolia) collected at Mays Landing, N. J.. 

January 2, 1920. 

which was decorated with festoons of laurel leaves. Between the per- 
formances the goats roamed ovei the stage and behind the scenes partaking 
very freely of the attractive, green lauiel foliage. Dr. C. J. Marshall, 
then out-surgeon of the Veterinary Hospital of the University of Pennsyl- 
vania, was called on the evening of December 24, 1894 to see the goats. 
Six of them died in the Veterinary Hospital from the effects of the laurel 
poison. Horses have died from eating the leaves, and in May 1895, a 
monkey was killed at the National Zoological Park at Washington, D. C. 
by eating a few flowers and leaves offered to it by a visitor. The honey 
made from the flowers of the mountain-laurel by bees is said to be poison- 
, ous. Cases of poisoning may be expected, therefore, from time to time 
in the region where this shrub grows which is from Canada to Maine and 
the Allegheny mountains through West Florida, Ohio, Kentucky and 



• MISCELLANEOUS DICOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS 95 

Tennessee. It is common on hill slopes in the Piedmont region west of 
Philadelphia and in the pine barrens of New Jersey. 

Stagger-bush {Lyonia {Andromeda) mariana). — A glabrous shrub 
growing about two feet tall with deciduous, oblong, or oval leaves. The 
flowers are white, or cream-colored, urn-shaped and produced in nodding 
fascicles before the leaves are fully developed. The capsules are grayish 
and persistent for some time. The stagger-bush occurs in low grounds 
from Rhode Island to Florida, Tennessee and Arkansas. Sheep have been 
poisoned and killed by eating the tops and foliage of this plant, which 
gets its name, because of the intoxicatiom of sheep and cattle by eating it. 

Rose Bay, or Great Laurel {Rhododendron maximum). — The great 
laurel is a tall shrub, or small tree forming thickets in the hilly and 
mountainous parts of the eastern United States from Maine to Ohio and 
south along the mountains to Georgia. It has large evergreen leaves 
which being sensitive to cold below 20° F, turn down and incurl during 
the coldest days of winter. The flowers are large, bell shaped, produced 
in short racemes from scaly large winter flower buds. This species and 
several other species, as R. californicum R. catawbiense, are poisonous 
to stock. Cases of death of goats in the Himalaya mountains of India 
are recorded from eating the leaves of Rhododendron cinnabarinum. 
\i^ General Considerations. — All of the above described ericaceous plants 
contain the substance andromedotoxin CsiHsoOio, a bitter glucoside 
more poisonous than aconitin, and more emetic than emetin. It is a 
narcotic poison. 

In the case of goats the symptoms are intense pain, diarrhoea, dis- 
comfort, gritting of the teeth, salivation and frequently vomiting, while 
there is trembling, spasms, vertigo, loss of power and death. Lander and 
others report somewhat similar symptoms in cattle that have eaten freely 
of any of the above shrubs. 

Chinese Primrose {Primtda obconica). — This plant is a native of 
China, but is cultivated in greenhouses and out of doors in summer in 
this country and Europe. Its leaves are all radical and cordate and 
covered with glandular hairs. The flowers are borne in umbels at the 
top of a slender scape 6-12 inches long. The glandular hairs form a drop 
of poison containing embelia acid"; C7H302(OH)2CiiH23, which is an 
irritant causing eruptions on the skin of susceptible persons, similar to 
those produced by poison ivy. The susceptible persons suffer from an 
eczematous inflammation of the hands and face, and apparently there is 



96 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

a recurrence of the inflammation after some time. Mr. Thomas Meehan 
describes a person, who after potting a lot of Primula obconica had his 
face so swollen that he remained completely blind for a day. 

Privet {Ligustrum vulgare). — The privet and several other species of 
Ligustrum are used commonly as hedge plants, for which purpose they are 
very suitable. The oval leaves are opposite and remain green well into 
the winter. Cases of poisoning of children, who have eaten the fruits, 
are recorded causing violent purging, a boy and a girl having died. Horses 
are poisoned and killed, the symptoms being a loss of power in the hind 
limbs with a weak and reduced pulse and a temperature of io2°F. 
The mucous membranes are injected, sHghtly, the pupils are dilated and 
death results in 36 to 48 hours. 

The poisonous principles are the glucosides ligustrin and ligustron 
together with syringin C17H24O9 and the bitter glucosidal principle 
syringopicrin, C26H24O17. These also occur in the lilac, Syringa vulgaris. 

Bibliography 

Anon.: Poisoning bj' Primroses. Scientific American, Supplement 83: 411, June 
30, 1917- 

Chestnut, V. K.: Thirtj^ Poisonous Plants. Farmers' Bulletin 86, U. S. Department 
of Agriculture, 1898, pages 23-29. 

Crawford, Albert C: Mountain Laurel, a Poisonous Plant. Bulletin 121, Part II, 
Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1908. 

Harshberger, John W.: Poisonous Plants. Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, 
second edition, vi, 2728-2729. 

Long, Harold C: Plants Poisonous to Live Stock. Cambridge at the University 
Press, 1917, pages 36-42, 46-49- 

Lutz, O.: Poisonous Nature of the Stinging Hairs of Jatropha urens. Science News, 
40, 609. 

Marsh, C. D wight: Menziesia, a New Stock-poisoning Plant of the Northwestern 
States. Drug and Poisonous Plant Investigations. U. S. Department of Agri- 
culture, Bureau of Plant Industry, Preliminary Notice, June 10, 1914. 

Marsh, C. Dwight, Clawson, A. B. and Marsh, H.vdleigh: Cicuta or Water Hem- 
lock. Bulletin 69, U. S. Department of Agriculture, March 28, 19 14. 

Nestler, A.: Plants Venomous tp Touch. Scientific American Supplement 75: 68, 
February i, 1913. 

Pammel, L. H.: Manual of Poisonous Plants. Part 2, 191 1, pages 645-679. 

Laboratory Work 

I. The class should describe by use of the outline given on page 54 the various 
plants described in this chapter, either as alcoholic, dried, or fresh specimens. With 



MISCELLANEOUS DICOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS 97 

selections and substitutions of plants, the contents of this chapter are of world-wide 
applicability. 

2. The members of the class in botany should make the test for coniin as follows: 
Concentrated sulphuric acid colors coniin blood-red, the color gradually changing to 
green. Potassium-cadmium iodide causes an amorphous precipitate of coniin, which dis- 
tinguishes the latter from nicotin, yielding a crystalline precipitate. 

3. Study of sublimable principles. See for details Kraemee, Henry: Applied and 
Economic Botany, 1914: 173-176 Quite a number of plant principles are capable of 
being sublimed. Not only is this true, when they are in the pure state, but also when 
they are associated with other compounds in the plant cell. This fact is of interest in 
the examination of poisonous plants. The procedure is simple, and a small quantity 
of material (0.020 to 0.050 gram) is required. In the study of flowers, a small piece 10 
square millimeters is all that is required. The material is dried, and hence, the use- 
fulness of the dried plants for laboratory study. The dried material is cut up, or 
comminuted and placed in a small watch crystal, which is covered with a slide, or 
another watch crystal, for the deposition of the sublimate. The watch crystal con- 
taining the material is carefully heated on a sand bath, or on a bath containing sul- 
phuric acid. The method is peculiarly suited for the study of the principles in the 
ericaceous plants. Tunman (Berichte der Deutsche Pharmaceutische Gesellschaft, 
191 1, 312) examined some of the Ericaceae by the microsublimation method and found 
that they contained arbutin. The latter is a widely distributed glucoside in the 
family and yields upon treatment/ with solutions of emulsin, or hydrochloric acid, 
the sublimable principle hydrochinon. The latter forms prisms and plates and may 
be examined further with acetone solution, dilute solutions of ferric chloride and water. 
Arbutin occurs in the leaves of Arctoslaphylos Uva-ursi, Vaccinium myrtillus, Kalmia 
angustifolia (see ante) , Pyrola rotundifolia and species of Rhododendron. This method 
can be used for the study of the sublimable principles in stramonium, podophyllin. 



CHAPTER 9 
PRINCIPALLY SOLANACEOUS AND COMPOSITOUS PLANTS 

Oleander {Nerium oleander). — The oleander is an old fashioned shrub 
grown in tubs inside of houses in north temperate regions, but in the open 
in the southern and southwestern United States, in southern Europe and 
in the Bermuda islands, where it is a mass of color during the month of 
June and even later in July. It is a native of the Mediterranean countries 
of Europe also in Persia, Japan and the East Indies. The writer has 
noticed three varieties in Bermuda, the white-flowered, the pink-flowered 
and the rose-red variety. The leaves are lanceolate, leathery with the 
stomata depressed in pits protected by hairs on their under surface. 

Cases and Sjrmptoms. — Five soldiers were poisoned by stirring a pot of 
barley soup with an oleander branch. Vomiting occurred. In one case, 
there was dizziness and abdominal pain; in another, dulling of the senses 
and insensibility to external pressure. Three hundred French soldiers 
in the army corps of Marshal Suchet in Catalonia became sick after eating 
roasted meat fastened together with skewers made of oleander sticks. 
A number of these soldiers died. A cow and two goats were poisoned 
with oleander leaves given with the other feed. The symptoms noted 
were coldness of the nose and extremities, maiked tremors in the posterior 
extremities and cramp-like contractions of all the muscles. The goats 
passed into a general paralytic condition and died in about eleven hours, 
while the cow died paralyzed twenty four hours after eating the leaves. 
The Arizona Experiment Station records a considerable number of cases 
of poisoning of horses about Phoenix and in other parts of the state. A 
fine team of draft horses were lost by eating oleander leaves. Experiments 
conducted by this station with cows, horses, lambs and mules amply 
demonstrate the poisonous character of the shrub. 

The amount of oleander necessary to cause death in horses ranges from 
fifteen to twenty grams of green leaves and from fifteen to thirty grams 
of dry leaves. The fatal dose for cows is from ten to twenty grams of 
green leaves and fifteen to twenty-five grams of dried leaves. The fatal 
amount of green or dry leaves for a sheep is one to five grams. 

q8 



PRINCIPALLY SOLANACEOUS AND COMPOSITOUS PLANTS 99 

The symptoms, as given in the Arizona bulletin, are increased tem- 
perature and pulse, as indicated by the graphs in the experimental portion 
of the report, dilation of the pupils of the eyes, discoloration of the 
mouth and nostrils, followed by a sore mouth. The body becomes wet 
with perspiration, the animal refuses to eat or drink. The fecal discharges 
are frequent and of a greenish color. The heart is powerfully stimulated 
and the action of the kidneys is increased slightly and the color of the 
urine is normal. 

Remedies. — There is little or nothing that can be done in cases of 
oleander poisoning except the administration of an emetic in the case of 
human beings. Emetics do little good with the lower animals. The 
physician should combat the human symptoms, as they arise, remember- 
ing that oleander poisoning is practically identical with that produced 
by digitalis. 

Active Principles. — Three active principles all of them glucosides 
reside in oleander. Oleandrin as an amorphous mass showing the charac- 
teristics of digitalin is the most important. Neriin and nerianthin are the 
remaining two and have much less marked poisonous properties. 

Whorled Milkweed {Asclepias verticillata). — The whorled milk- weed 
has only lately come into prominence as a poisonous plant in portions of 
Colorado. The plant has angled stems, narrowly linear leaves in whorls 
of two to four and greenish flowers tinged with purple of the usual milk 
weed type. The plant is distributed from Maine to Florida to Texas to 
Mexico and Arizona. The writer has found it on the Hempstead Plain in 
western Long Island. 

A sheepman near Colona, Colorado lost eighty-five head of lambs which 
he had turned into his orchard after they were, brought down from the 
range. The only poisonous plant in the orchard was the whorled milk- 
weed. In the fall of 1916, a loss of 750 sheep out of a flock of 1400 was 
reported from Cortez, Colorado. An examination of the stomach contents 
was made by the Colorado station which showed that the sheep had eaten 
practically nothing but milkweed. Grazing on the young plants, as 
early, as June and throughout the summer months has proved disastrous. 

Solanacese. — This family contains a number of plants which are 
celebrated as poisonous plants yielding, however, things of great medicinal 
importance. The belladonna {Atropa Belladonna) , is one of the most 
important drug plants of this family, also poisonous. Hyoscyamns, 
Scapola, Datura, and Mandragora are others. 



lOO PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

Thorn Apple {Datura Stramonium and D. Tatula). — The Jamestown 
Weed, or Jimson Weed, is a tall, much-branched annual with broadly, 
ovate, shallowly lobed leaves and single, plaited, trumpet-shaped flowers, 
either white {D. Stramonium) or purple in color {D. Tatula). The fruit is 
a prickly imperfectly, four-celled capsule with sphericidal blackish-brown 
seeds. 

Cases. — The writer's earliest acquaintance with poisonous plants 
was with this plant and poison ivy. While a lad about twelve years old, 
three children of the neighborhood were brought into his father's drug 
store having eaten the seeds of the Jimson weed. They were all suffering 
from the effects of the poison. Emetics were administered and the writer's 
father took all three children out into the back yard and compelled 
them to run about by whipping the calves of their legs with a carriage whip 
until they broke into a profuse perspiration. He succeeded in saving their 
lives by this and other heroic treatment. Many cases have been recorded 
of poisoning by these plants. The Philadelphia Ledger of October 12, 
1909 gives this account of poisoning "A verdict of death by accidental 
poisoning by eating seeds of stramonium, or jimson-weed plant was found 
by a coroner's jury yesterday in the case of Martha Robinson, 3 years old 
daughtei of Reserve Policeman James Robinson. The testimony showed 
that Maltha and her little friend, Helen Bradley, attracted by the cur- 
iously shaped seed pods of the weed growing on a lot at 55 th and Paschal 
Avenue, where they were playing, had broken several of them open and 
had eaten the seeds. Both children became sick and went home where 
antidotes were administered to them, but failed to overcome the toxic 
effects in the case of Martha Robinson, who died in agony. Helen 
Bradley was apparently on the load to recovery yesterday, but her con- 
dition at times was extremely critical." 

Symptoms. — The symptoms of poisoning are about the same in all 
cases. Large doses produce headache, vertigo, nausea, extreme thirst, 
dry, burning skin and general nervous confusion, with dilated pupils, loss 
of sight and of voluntary motion, sometimes with many convulsions and 
death. Smaller doses act like ordinary narcotics. Emetics should be 
administered and the stomach washed out with tea, tannic acid, or an 
infusion of oak baik, if in the country. Pilocarpin is recommended by 
physicians to counteract the drying effect upon the secretions and pro- 
longed artificial respiration must be used to maintain the aeration of the 
blood. 



PRINCIPALLY SOLANACEOUS AND COMPOSITOUS PLANTS lOI 

Poisons. — The thorn apple contains two poisonous alkaloids hyos- 
cyamin (C17H23O3N) and atropin (C17H23O3N) together with scopolamin, 
or hyoscin (Ci7H2i04N). The principal substance is hyoscyamin. The 
true alkaloids together occur to the extent of 0.48 to 3.33 per cent, in the 
leaves, 0.43 per cent, in the flowers and in the root o.i per cent. Daturin 
was formerly believed to be in the plant, but it has been proved to be a 
mixture of hyoscyamin and of atropir. 

Bittersweet {Solanum dulcamara). — The bittersweet is a climbing 
plant producing purple flowers with rotate corollas followed by a bright-red, 
ellipsoidal berry. There is considerable divergence of opinion about the 
poisonous properties of this plant, some denying that the fiuit is poison- 
ous. Dr. S. C. Schmucker thinks that the berry fruit is haimless provided 
the seeds are removed before it is eaten. Perhaps this explains the dis- 
crepancies in the statements about the use of the berry as food. However, 
the plant contains the toxic alkaloid found in other species of Solanum and 
Gillam reports a case of poisoning in sheep and the writer has heard of the 
poisoning of children on Long Island by eating the fruit. The symptoms 
as recorded by Gillam in the case of the sheep mentioned above were 
small, intermittent pulse, temperature io4°F, quickened respiration, 
staggering gait, dilation of pupils and green bowel discharges. The 
SA^mptoms seem to be the same in the poisoning of cattle. 

Garden Nightshade {Solanum nigrum). — The black nightshade is a 
smooth annual growing one to two feet high with ovate leaves having 
wavy margins. There are drooping clusters of small, white flowers and 
black, globose, juicy beriies, which ripen from July to October. It is 
a common introduced weed in rich, shaded grounds and fields east of 
South Dakota and Arkansas and in damp places westward to the Pacific 
Ocean. 

The amount of poison in this plant varies with the conditions of growth. 
The plants with the musky odor aie the most poisonous. Children have 
been poisoned by eating the berries, but occasionally owing probably to a 
vaiiation in the poisonous content of the berries children may eat them 
with no other ill effect than a pain in the stomach. Chestnut and Wilcox 
record cases of poisoning in calves, sheep, goats and pigs. The character- 
istics symptoms are about the same in animals and in man. They are 
stupefaction, staggeiing, loss of speech, feeling and consciousness, cramps, 
and occasionally convulsions. The pupils show dilation. Paralysis is 
usually the cause of death. , 



I02 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

Potato {Solanion tMberosum) .—Although, the potato plant is con- 
sidered one of the principal food plants of the human race, yet there are 
parts of the plant which are poisonous, and there are conditions in which 
the tubers develop poisonous properties. The tops of the plants stems 
and leaves are poisonous containing the active principle. Even the tubers 
which are eaten with impunity by the majority of people may be injurious 
to some persons with a susceptible idiosyncrasy. Again when tubers are 
stored in a damp cellar to which sunlight has access, they may develop a 
green color. Such greened tubers and the tubers from which young shoots 
have sprung develop the poisonous properties of the tops and have been 
the cause of accidental poisoning. Macfadyen has shown that old 
sprouted potatoes, even after boiling, are poisonous to horses. Two cows 
became ill after eating potato parings, as they contain more of the toxic 
principle than the "flesh." 

Poisonous Substances. — The three above mentioned species of the 
genus Solanum, as well, as other species of the genus contain an alkaloid 
solanin (C52H93NO18) having a hot, bitter taste. Solanum [dulcamara 
the bittersweet contains in addition dulcamin, which gives it its peculiar 
bitter-sweet taste. The black night shade contains also solanidin (C40- 
HeiNOo) with strong basic properties. 

Sneeze-weed (Helenium aulumnale) .—A perennial herb with smooth, 
or puberulent, stem 6 to 18 decimenters high. The leaves are firm, 
sharp-pointed with decurrent, sessile bases. The heads are numerous 
3-5 centimeters broad borne on long peduncles. The ray flowers are 
blight-yellow, 3-cleft and drooping, ten to eighteen in number. The 
disk-flowers are perfect, fertile and yellow in color. The achenes are 
pubescent on the angles, while the pappus scales are ovate, sharp-pointed, 
or toothed. The swamp sunflower, or yellow star, is found in swamps 
and wet meadows from Quebec to Connecticut, Florida, South Dakota, 
Kansas and Alabama. It occurs in the Rocky mountains from Wyom- 
ing to Montana in a v&ntiy grandifiorum. It is in flower from August until 
October. Its common name refers to the sneezing of which it produces, 
a fact kno\Yn to the Winnebago Indians, who used it for that purpose. 

Symptoms. — Sheep, cattle and horses, that are unfamiliar with the 
plant which is more or less bitter, acrid and pungent, are often poisoned 
by it when driven to pastures where it is abundant. As a rule, because 
of the above-mentioned qualities, animals avoid it, but they sometimes 
acquire a taste for it and are quickly killed by eating it in large amounts. 



PRINCIPALLY SOLANACEOUS AND COMPOSITOUS PLANTS 



lO- 



Little is known about the poisonous principle in the plant, but it appar- 
ently is found in largest amount in the flowers. The symptoms, as deter- 
mined in Mississippi by an observation of calves, are an accelerated pulse, 
difficult breathing, staggering and extreme sensitiveness to touch. Death 
is preceded in fatal cases by spasms and convulsions. The spasms in 




Fig. 39. — Flowering branch of white sna,keToot{Eiipatorium urticcBfolium). (After 
Crawford, Albert C: The Supposed Relationship of White Snakeroot to Milk Sickness, or 
Trembles. Bull. 121, Part i, Bureau of Plant Industry, Plate i.) 

several cases with sheep are epileptiform, yet a sheep may have such 
violent convulsions and yet recover without treatment, but they may 
acquire a mania for it after having been poisoned. The horse and mule 
succumb to the injurious effects of the toxic substance quicker and more 
completely than other animals. The influence of the poison appears 



I04 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



soon after ingestion and with violence. The horse is unable to control 
his motions, plunges about blindly, falls dead, or breaks his neck in falling 
forward with the head under the body. A pint or two of melted lard 
poured down the animals throat has proved an effective antidote, but it 
must be administered before the horse loses control of his limbs. The 
lard probably acts as a local emollient relieving the burning in the throat 
and stomach and hence allays the violent reflexes. 




Fig. 40. — Clump of white snakeroot (Eupatorium urticaefolium) in yard of vacant 
house at 41st and Baltimore Avenue, Philadelphia, October 9, 1919. 



Helenium tenuifolium, the fine-leaved sneeze-weed, is often the 
cause of bitter milk in the south and in the Gulf states. It is fatal to 
horses and mules. 

White Snakeroot {Eupatorium urlicaefoliiim = E. ageratoides). — The 
plant has perennial roots and varies in height from one to five feet being 
more or less branched. The leaves are opposite, ovate, slightly cordate 
with long pedicles, and are strongly 3-ribbed. The margin is sharply 
and coarsely serrate (Fig. 39). The heads are small but crowded in dense 
clusters with a number of white florets to each head. The involucre is 
narrowly bell-shaped consisting of linear, ovate bracts. The achenes are 



PRINCIPALLY SOLANACEOUS AND COMPOSITOUS PLANTS 105 

smooth. This species of Eupatorium has been collected in Ontario, 
Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, 
Pennsylvania, District of Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia, Georgia, 
Louisiana, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska 
Oklahoma and Kentucky (Fig. 40). 

Disease. — It is conceded by the latest evidence that this plant is the 
cause of a disease known as trembles in cattle, or milk sickness in man. 
The name "tires and slows," employed by Howard (1871), Logan (1849') 
and Byford (1855), is used in some sections and there are other names, 
such as swamp sickness, river fever, puking fever, stiff joints, colica 
trementia, morbeo lacteo, ergodeleteria, gastritis, gastro-enteritis, muko- 
soma, syro, caconemia and paralysis intestinalis. 

Symptoms. — The first sign of the disease in cattle is a listlessness and 
disinclination to move with muscular weakness and trembling, especially 
when the animal is driven. Such animals, too, are generally constipated, 
are greatly excited and are disposed to fight. The characteristic stage 
of trembling is marked also by stiff joints. The animal may sink to the 
ground showing great weakness and exhaustion, and may remain on the 
spot where it has fallen. Animals in this stage may recover, but more 
often die. Violent exercise causes the dormant poison to become active, 
and this is especially noticeable when cattle, which have been fattened 
for market, are driven from the infected localities showing marked trem- 
bling, while those that remain at home remain healthy. The breath of 
such animals has a foul odor described as "garlicky," "like chloroform 
liniment" and "mildly like acetone," "singularly fetid,'* "pungent and 
corrosive." 

With sheep the onset of the disease is a loss of appetite and a gritting 
of the teeth. Such animals are sluggish and manifest a marked disinclina- 
tion to move. They remain standing in a droopy posture (Fig. 41). Res- 
piration is accelerated, often jerky and somewhat labored. A marked 
stiffness of the legs and ataxia characterize the movements in walking. 
This is shown early and becomes aggravated as time passes. If after a 
day or two the animal is forced to rise and is driven a few yards, muscular 
spasm, especially in the limbs, is evident. The sheep then refuses to 
move, stands with hind limbs placed well under the body and all feet 
spread apart laterally. The back is arched, the neck is stretched and the 
head lowered (Fig. 42). Quivering then spreads from the limbs over the 
entire body becoming more intense until it becomes an invohtional tremor, 



loO 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



followed by slight, intermittent tetanic contractions. At this stage of 
trembling, ataxia is pronounced and the animal is unable to stand. It 
drops to the ground with its head and neck outstretched and jaw close to 
the ground (Fig. 43). Trembling is repeated every time the animal is 
made to rise. The animal becomes comatose after the second or third 
day and may lie prostrate on its side until death occurs. The symptoms 
of trembles in hogs are in general like those in sheep (Figs. 44 and 45). 




Fig. 41. — Ewe 161 in a characteristic posture when the tremors following the eat- 
ing of white snakeroot (Eupatoriutn urliccefolium) have become acute. The animal 
has spread its feet apart to remain standing. {After Wolf, F. A., Curtis, R. S. and 
Kaupp, B. F.: A Monograph on Trembles or Milk Sickness and White Snakeroot. 
Technical Bulletin 15, North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station, July, 1918, Plate 
2, Fig. B.) 

The onset of milk sickness in man is gradual, and after a day or two of 
weakness and debility accompanied by loss of appetite, the patient is 
seized with epigastric distress. Violent vomiting follows, associated with 
obstinate constipation with great thirst. Abdominal pain is noteworthy 
and muscular tremors are generally present. The foul odor of the breath 
is characteristic. The tongue is swollen. Respiration is normal, but the 
temperatures is subnormal (97° to 98°). Severe cases show typhoid 
symptoms with delirium. Coma precedes death, which may come as 



PRINCIPALLY SOLANACEOUS AND COMPOSITOUS PLANTS 107 




Fig. 42. — Ewe 161 a few seconds subsequent to stage in prrccdmg figure. The 
animal is beginning to drop down to a resting posture. {After Wolf, J. A., Curtis, R. S. 
and Kaupp, B. F.: A Monograph on Trembles or Milk Sickness and While Snakerool. 
Technical Bulletin 15, North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station, July, 1918, 
Plate 3, Fig. C.) 




Fig. 43. — Ewe 12 in resting posture commonly assumed by affected animals. The 
same evidences of stupor are present, but the head and neck are extended. '{After Wolf, 
F. A., Curtis, R. S. and Kaupp, B. F.: A Monograph on Trembles or Milk Sickness and 
White Snakerool. Technical Bulletin 15, North Carolina Agricultural Experiment 
Station, July, 1918, Plate 4, Fig. E.) 



io8 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



early as two days after the onset of the preliminary symptons. Lasting 
debility appears to be a common sequel of recovery. The mortality in 




Fig. 44. — A pi^; :u a'v !ucli the ircniors due to eating white snakcroot have become 
so violent that the animal has settled backward upon her haunches and is squealing. 
{After Wolf, F. A., Curtis, R. S. and Kaupp, B. F.: A Monograph on Trembles or Milk 
Sickness and While Snakeroot. Technical Bulletin 15, North Carolina Agricultural 
Experiment Station, July, 1918, Plate 6, Fig. J.) 



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Fig. 45. — A pig which has assumed the resting' posture from the position shown in 
the preceding figure. {After Wolf, F. A., Curtis, R. S. and Kaupp, B. F.: A Monograph 
on Trembles or Milk Sicffness and While Snakeroot. Technical Bulletin 15, North Caro- 
lina Agricultural Experiment Station, Julv, 1918. Plate 7, Fig. K. 

men, who have had milk sickness, is approximately 24 per cent, for out of 
320 rejDorted cases, 77 persons died. No particular difficulty need be 



PRINCIPALLY SOLANACEOUS AND COMPOSITOUS PLANTS lOQ 

encountered in explaining the excretion of the poisonous principle in the 
milk for milk acquires tastes and flavors from the feed of animals. The 
medical practitioner well knows that such substances as opium, morphin 
and atropin may pass into the mother's milk and act on the nursing child. 
We have seen how the active principle of mayapple is thus secreted in 
cow's milk. Notably do organic substances pass into the milk, but many 
inorganic substances, such as, arsenic, iodine, bismuth, etc., are secreted. 

Cause of Disease. — Numerous papers have been written discussing 
the cause of the disease. These theories may be classified, as follows: (a) 
mineral poison theory, the ingestion of something from the soil or water; 
(b) the germ, or microbic theory; (c) the poisonous plant theory. All 
the weight of evidence is in favor of the latter theory. The experiments 
have narrowed the poisonous plants down to the white snakeroot, and 
Mosely (1909) attributed the poisonous action to the presence of alumi- 
num phosphate (AIPO4) in the plant, but experiments with this sub- 
stance has not substantiated his claims. A synthetic study of the plant 
has indicated that there arp glucosides present in the sap of the white 
snakeroot, but the particular glucoside responsible for the disease has not 
been isolated. Further studies on the nature of the active principle are 
in progress. No efficient remedial treatment has yet been discovered. 

Ragwort {Senecio Jacohoea). — The writer's first acquaintance with 
this plant, or Stinking Willy, as it is called in Nova Scotia, was with the 
receipt of specimens of the plant for identification from a former student, 
Dr. A. E. Cunningham of Antigonish, Nova Scotia with the statement, that 
it was the cause of the socalled Pictou cattle disease. Not much was 
learned about the disease until the receipt of the Annual Report of the 
Department of Agriculture of New Zealand for 1903 where a full detailed 
account covering fifty pages is given. 

Description. — The tansy ragwort, or staggerwort, is a perennial plant 
with short, thick rootstocks. The stems are stout, simple, branched 
above, smooth, or somewhat wooly. The lower leaves are petioled, the 
upper sessile. The leaf segments are oblong-cuneate, dentate, or incised. 
The heads are numerous, short-peduncled in large compact corymbs. 
The involucre is narrowly campanulate with linear-lanceolate, acute 
bracts. The number of ray florets varies from twelve to fifteen. They 
are yellow with truncate, dentate apices. The disk florets are brownish- 
yellow. The plant is found in waste planes in Nova Scotia, New Bruns- 
wick and Ontario, and has been found on the ballast about New York 
and Philadelphia having been introduced from Europe, where it is native. 



no PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

Disease. — The Pictou cattle-disease is only found in Canada, in a dis- 
trict spread along the northern shore of the Nova Scotia peninsula, a tract 
of country extending about forty miles along that coast and stretching 
from five to twelve miles inland. In this district, it has been noted for 
some forty years, now at one end of the area, now at the other. Cattle 
are in the main affected, but cases are on record in which sheep and even 
horses have shown symptoms of the disease. The disease would seem to 
be very chronic, and all the cattle upon a farm are not affected simultane- 
ously. What appears to be a similar disease has been recorded in Great 
Britain and in Germany, but the ragwort has not been associated ap- 
parently with the disease as its cause. 

Symptoms. — The most detailed account of the symptoms come from 
New Zealand where the disease has occurred in the Southland and in a 
small portion of the Waikato district, Auckland Province, in the Wairaropa 
district and probably on the west coast of the South Island. The most 
notable symptoms in horses are a weak, staggering, swaying gait, when 
standing a tendency to stamp with one or both hind feet, twitching of the 
muscles, an amaurotic condition of the pupils, yellowness of the visible 
mucous membranes, a clammy condition of the mouth, irregular and gen- 
erally weak intermittent pulse, a depraved appetite and a normal tem- 
perature. The earliest noticeable symptom is drowsiness and general 
dullness. There is a depraved appetite, the horse eating barn yard rub- 
bish. There is inability to completely coordinate the muscles and in 
advanced stages difficulty to keep from falling. There are symptoms like 
drunkenness, a staggering, swaying gait followed by a frenzied condition, 
such as madness, head held high, etc. Soon the animal falls down unable 
to rise. Later the horse becomes unconscious, complete coma sets in 
and death rapidly comes. 

In dairy cows, the first notable symptom is diminution of the milk 
supply. Later the milk has the peculiar odor of the animal's skin with an 
acrid flavor. There is rapid emaciation, a voracious appetite, or a total 
absence of any desire for food. Jaundice is more or less pronounced. 
Dropsy of the abdomen is frequently observed, while the animal is alive. 
There is a similar want of coordination of the muscles, as in horses, and 
there is always chronic diarrhoea of a most persistent type accompany- 
ing the rapid emaciation. Feeding cattle and covvsikept for purely breed- 
ing purposes, do not exhibit quite the same symptoms. Diarrhoea is 
not nearly so acute, dropsy of the abdomen is not so evident, and whereas 



PRINCIPALLY SOLANACEOUS AND COMPOSITOUS PLANTS III 

in the dairy cow symptoms may be exhibited for even ten days, or a 
fortnight, in these cows death occurs in from two to five days, the animal 
being in a visible state of excitement almost bordering on frenzy. The 
proof that the milk is changed is the refusal of the calf to come to its 
mother paying no attention to her bellowing. 

Post-Mortem Study. — The most striking appearance on skinning an 
animal in the post-mortem examination is the yellow, bile-stained condi- 
tion of the tissues. The peritoneum, the fat, and the general viscera all 
exhibit the same appearance, which may vary from a faint tinge to the 
proverbial "yellow as a guinea." In cattle, there is frequently a large 
accumulation of a semi-gelatinous, yellowish exudate, situated subcutane- 
ously along the inferior borders of the thorax and abdomen. The most 
marked change is in the liver, which is almost constantly in a state of 
chronic cirrhosis. The organ is usually smaller than normal, of a dull, 
mottled, slaty-blue color frequently pitted and almost "hob-nailed," there 
being occasionally small dark-blue pitted areas underneath the capsule 
and throughout the structure. The lymphatic glands are usually much 
enlarged. 

Feeding experiments and the fact that the Auckland District in New 
Zealand, where Senecio Jacohaea occurs, is separated by thousands of 
miles from the Pictou district of Nova Scotia, where the plant is also 
found, is sufficient proof that the ragwort is the causative agent of the 
same disease in cattle in both widely separated countries. 

Hay-Fever Plants (Pollinosis) . — Hay-fever, or autumnal catarrh, is an 
affection of the upper air passages occurring periodically, usually at or 
near a fixed date in the early autumn, sometimes in the spring, or summer, 
characterized by its sudden onset and as sudden termination, and by a 
swelling of the mucous membranes of the nasal and adjacent cavities, 
irritating discharges therefrom, and various syniptoms of coryza, and 
occasionally by asthmatic paroxysms. It has been conclusively proved 
by many authorities that hay-fever does not occur unless we have a 
conjunction of three necessary factors: 

1. An external air-borne irritant; 

2. A sensitive, or diseased, nasal mucous membrane; 

3. An unstable nerve center. 

The second and third elements are usually associated with a functional, 
or hereditary predisposition to the disease. The first is associated with 
the external causative factor. 



112 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

The President of Ihe American Hay-Fever Prevention Association 
states that about one per cent, of the population of the United States 
suffers from the disease. As he beheves that the external cause is the 
pollen of various plants, the extermination of these plants would result in 
Ihe practical elimination of hay-fever. Various plants give rise to pollen 
grains in sufficient number to provide the irritating material cause of hay- 
fever. Such are the rose, rye, sweet vernal grass {Anthoxanthum odora- 
lum) sweet-scented soft grass (Holcus odoratus), meadow grass, Indian 
corn, barley, wheat, oats, bean flowers, lilies, elder bushes in bloom, the 
goldenrods, hay, timothy, spiny amaranth, marsh elder, yellow dock, 
Johnson grass and cockle-bur. E. Philip Smith enumerates the principal 
hay-fever plants. The hay-fever plants par excellence are the common 
ragweed {Ambrosia artemisicefolia) , great ragweed (Ambrosia trifida) and 
western ragweed {Ambrosia psiloslachya). . These plants are widely dis- 
tributed and blossom in late August and early September, producing an 
abundance of wind-carried pollen. Perhaps more cases of hay-fever are 
due to these plants than all others put together. 

Common Ragweed {Ambrosia artemisiosfolia) . — This is a native, 
annual, branching plant growing about two to three feet tall. It has 
thin leaves, bipinnately divided and racemes of numerous staminate 
htads with chaffy receptacle. The pistillate heads are clustered. The 
plant is found from Nova Scotia to British Columbia, Florida and 
Mexico. 

Great Ragweed {Ambrosia trifida). — This is an annual plant with hir- 
sute to hispid stems, 1-5 meters tall, and opposite, deeply three to five 
lobed leaves with serrate margins. The racemes of staminate heads are 
5-15 centimeters long with saucer-shaped involucres, while the pistillate 
heads are clustered in the axils of the leaf-like bracts. The great ragweed 
occurs in the rich alluvial soil along streams in moist, meadow soils from 
Quebec to Northwest Territory, Florida, Arkansas and Colorado. The 
third species of ragweed. Ambrosia psilostachya ranges from Northwest 
Territory to IlUnois, Texas, Mexico and Cahfornia. Artemisia heter- 
ophylla of California may also be classed with the hay-fever inducing 
plants. The results of experimentation with various kinds of pollen have 
been most discordant. As the digestive power of the nasal mucosa is 
very slight and the pollen-grain is effectively sealed, it is difficult to 
understand how any of the protein-contents could diffuse out passively. 
The affects of the possible germination of pollen in the nasal passages may 



PRINCIPALLY SOL^NACEOUS AND COMPOSITOUS PLANTS II3 

be set aside. Foreign bodies may produce sneezing, but not the after 
effects. E. Philip Smith suggests that there is an oily substance on the 
outer wall (exine) of the pollen grains which cause hay fever. Experi- 
menting with pollen of Hibiscus, he found upon shaking it up with cold 
ether, that an oil could be obtained by allowing the ether to evaporate. 
This oily residue applied to the skin raised a severe blister. If this idea, 
that the poisonous principle of pollen is an irritant oil, a new light is thrown 
upon the nature of the poisoning which resolves itself into a kind of 
dermatitis, or irritation of the delicate, ciliated epithelium lining the 
nasal cavities. 

Granted that the pollen of these plants is responsible for hay-fever, 
the way of controlling the disease would be the extermination of the plants. 
This might be accomplished by hand pulling, if every one would cooperate in 
this laudable enterprise. Barring the entire destruction of these noxious 
weeds, mowing just before they start to shed their pollen would be a 
means of their final destruction, as this would prevent the formation of 
seeds upon which the perpetuation of the species depends. Concerted 
action should be taken to exterminate these useless and deleterious 
ragweeds. 

Remedies. — Recent work has been done along remedial lines by 
securing a hay-fever vaccine to be used in the immunization of the suscep- 
tible person. To secure this vaccine, the flowers of the various hay-fever 
plants are collected when pollination has started. They are dried and the 
pollen collected by means of fine sieves. The pollen is dried thoroughly 
and preserved in a dry state until it is to be extracted. In the preparation 
of the extract. 

1. The pollen is mixed with sufficient physiological saline solution 
(0.85 per cent.) to make a fairly thick paste. 

2. The paste is transferred to a ball mill and ground for 24 hours, or, 
until microscopic examination shows that the pollen grains are broken. 

3. Physiological saline solution is added and the resultant mixture is 
centrifuged to remove insoluble debris. 

4. The extracted protein is purified by precipitation with acetone. 

5. The precipitate is dried and thus preserved until needed. 

6. For use, the precipitate is dissolved in physiological saline solution. 
The amount of protein-nitrogen in this solution is determined by the 
Kjeldahl method. 

7. The solution is then diluted so that each cubic centimeter will 



114 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAJ. BOTANY 

contain certain fractions of a milligram of protein-nitrogen. The lowest 
dilution, i cc. of which may be used as the initial dose in treatment, 
contains o.oo 25 mg. 

8. The final solutions are preserved from contamination by the addition 
of 0.35 per cent, tricresol and sterilized by filtration. Sterility is deter- 
mined by careful aerobic and anaerobic cultural tests. 

Vaccines.^Two kinds of vaccines have been prepared the "'spring" 
and "fall." The hay-fever vaccine ''spring" contains the varieties of 
pollen which are the causative agents in the great majority of hay-fever 
cases occurring in the late spring and early summer. The hay-fever 
vaccine "fall" contains only proteins fiom the pollens of ragweed, golden- 
rod and maize. For immunization against hay-fever, the first dose of 
the vaccine in a syringe should be given 30 days before the expected attack 
and the vaccine should be used weekly at intervals during the entire 
period of accustomed attack or until immunity is established. 

Another preparation is pollantin, used as an antitoxic serum to secure 
immunity against an attack of bay fever. 

Walnut Pollen as a Cause of Hay Fever. — The spring type of hay fever 
is very troublesome in the Sacramento Valley, California where it has 
been found to be due to the pollen of the native Californian black walnut 
(Juglans calif ornica, var. Hindsii), which produces pollen in abundance 
during the peiiod of the prevalences of the malady, which disappears 
after the close of the flowering period. Biological tests were made upon 
eight hay fever subjects with positive results in each case with the use 
of walnut pollen. Twelve susceptible persons were examined at Chico, 
where cases are common, and where the walnut is planted as an ornamental 
tree, and in every case positive reactions were obtained with extracts 
prepared from the Californian black walnut pollen. 

Bibliography 

Bond, H. G.: Box Elder Poisoning. The Veterinary Alumni Quarterly, Ohio College 

Veterinary Medicine, 19 16, iii. 
Boston Globe: Hay Fever Causes. Health Board puts Blame on Certain Types of 

Weeds. Boston, Sunday September 3, 1916, page 12. 
Clark, George H. and Fletcher, James: Farm Weeds of Canada. Illustrated with 

Colored Plates, Ottawa, 1906, pages 51, 52, 57. 
Cox, Herbert R.: Hay-fever Season is Here. Some Weeds that Make Folks Sneeze. 

The Country Gentleman, August 5, 1916, page 1467. 



PRINCIPALLY SOLANACEOUS AND COMPOSITOUS PLANTS II 5 

Crawford, Albert C: The Supposed Relationship of White Snakeroot to Milk 

Sickness. Bulletin 121, Part I, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Department of 

Agriculture, 1908. 
Dunbar, Prof. Dr.: PoUantin Specific Remedy for Hay-fever, Autumnal Catarrh, 

Rose Fever and Similar Complaints. 
Glover, Geo. H. and Rubbins, W. W.: Colorado Plants Injurious to Live Stock. 

Bulletin 211, Agricultural Experiment Station of the Colorado Agricultural College, 

1915- 

Hall, Harvey M. : Walnut Pollen as a Cause of Hay Fever. Science new ser., Ivii, 
516-517, May 24, 1918. 

Harris, F. W. and Cockburn, F. : Alleged Poisoning by Potatoes. American Journal 
of Pharmacy, 90, 722-726, October, 1918. 

HiLGENDORF, F. W. : Plants Poisonous to Stock. Journal of the Canterbury Agri- 
cultural and Pastoral Association, 3d Ser., vi, 15-21, June, 19 18. 

HoLLOPETER, W. C: Hay-fever, its Prevention and Cure. Funk & Wagnalls Com- 
pany, New York, and London, 1916, pages 1-347 with extensive bibliography. 

Long, Harold C. : Plants Poisonous to Live Stock. Cambridge at the University 
Press, 191 7, pages 44-46, 50-60. 

Marsh, C. D wight: Prevention and Loss of Live Stock from Plant Poisoning. Farmers' 
Bulletin 720, U. S. Department Agriculture, 1916. 

Marsh, C. Dwight and Clawson, A. B.: Eupatorium uticaefolium as a Poisonous 
Plant. Journal Agricultural Research, xi, 699-715, Dec. 24, 1917. 

MuLFORD, H. K., Company: Hay Fever Vaccine for the Prevention and Treatment 
of "Spring" and "Fall" Hay Fever. Mulford Working Bulletin No. i, pages 1-8. 

Anon.: Hepatic Cirrhosis affecting Horses and Cattle (so called "Winter Disease"). 
Annual Report of the Department of Agriculture of New Zealand, 1903, Division 
of Veterinary Science, pages 227-278. 

Pammel, L. H.: Manual of Poisonous Plants. Part 2, 1911, pages 713-733, 753-802. 

ScHEPPEGRiLL, D. W. : Hereditary Hay Fever. Scientific American, cxix, 371, iv or 9, 
1918. 

Smith, E. Philip: PoUinosis ("Hay Fever"). The Journal of Botany, British and 
Foreign, Iviii, 40-44, Feb., 1920. 

Wilcox, W. F.: A Sheep-killing Plant. Colorado finds that the Whorled Milkweed 
is Poisonous. The Country Gentleman, September 6, 1919, page 40. 

Wilson, F. W.: Oleander Poisoning of Live Stock. Bulletin 59, University of Arizona, 
Agricultural Experiment Station, April 15, 1909. 

Wolf, F. A., Curtis, R. S. and Kaupp, B. F.: A Monograph on Trembles or Milk 
Sickness and White Snakeroot. Technical Bulletin 15, North Carolina Agri- 
cultural Experiment Station, July, 1916. 

Laboratory Work 

I. Study and describe the several plants which form the themes for this chapter 
preserved for the purpose in alcohol, dried or fresh specimens. The botanical teacher 
with knowledge of his flora can use the facts of this chapter in laboratory work in any 
part of the civilized world. 



Il6 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

2. Test the action of the leaves of Jimson weed, especially if fresh, by rubbing, the 
leaves with the index finger and then rubbing the eye balls with the finger. Does the 
pupil dilate as a result of such treatment? 

3. The following test with hyoscyamin can be made. Hyoscyamin shows an alka- 
line reaction with phenolptalein and causes a yellow to red precipitate when touched 
with a 2 per cent, solution of mercuric chloride in diluted alcohol. 

4. Examine microscopically and draw the pollen of the ragweeds, Ambrosia artemisi- 
aefolia and Ambrosia trifida, preserved in weak formalin (2 per cent.) for this purpose, 
or dried pollen may be substituted, when mounted in water for examination. 



« 
CHAPTER lo 

FEEDS AND FEEDING 

The food of the domestic animals (excluding the carnivorous house 
pets, the dog and the cat) is vegetable derived from living plants, or from 
plants cured in various ways for preservation during that part of the year 
when plant life is dormant. When we discuss the plants suitable as food 
for cattle, whether fresh or preserved, we are dealing with forage plants. 
If the cattle are turned into the open fields to eat the food plants found 
there, they are consuming the pasture plants, usually the pasture, or 
pasturage. Soilage, used as a term for the first time in 1900, means sup- 
plying forage fresh from the field to animals in confinement. The plants, 
which are grown for this purpose, are known as soiling crops. Fodder is 
a comprehensive term for cattle food usually fed in bulk and in the dry 
state,^ while hay is grass that has been cut and dried for use as fodder. 
Ensilage, or silage, is the preservation of green forage such, as corn, beet 
tops, and other plants in a pit dug in the ground, or in a large tank, or 
vat, above ground known as the silo. By a process of fermentation, the 
green plant parts are converted into silage. Stover, or corn stover, de- 
notes the dried stalks of corn from which the ears have been removed. 
Chemical Constituents. — The substances, which have been formed 
in the living plant through the activity of its living protoplasm in the leaves 
of the green plant principally, and have found their way into the plant 
by the active absorption of the roots, or by a gaseous interchange of oxy- 
gen and carbon dioxide with the air, have been classified by chemists into 
several groups. These are water, ash, or mineral matter, crude protein, 
fi er, fat, nitrogen-free extract, carbohydrates. Fresh mangels contain 
90.6 per cent, of water, i per cent, of ash, 1.4 per cent, crude protein, 
0.8 per cent, fiber, 6.1 per cent, nitrogen-free extract and o.i per cent. fat. 
Timothy hay shows on analysis, 11.6 per cent, water, 4.9 per cent, ash, 
6.2 per cent, crude protein, 29.9 per cent, fiber, 45.0 nitrogen-free extract, 
2.5 per cent, of fat, while dent corn has the composition of 10,5 per cent. 

1 Fodder corn is applied to stalks of corn green or dry with all the ears which have 
been grown primarily for forage. 

117 



Il8 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

water, 1.5 per cent, ash, lo.i per cent, crude protein, 2.0 per cent, fiber, 
70.9 per cent, nitrogen free extract and 5.0 per cent. fat. 

Nature of Feeds. — In the consideration of feeds, it is important to 
differentiate between those which have a coarse, bulky character and 
others which are more concentrated and nutritious. Accordingly the 
terms ''roughage" and "concentrates" are used. Roughage represents 
the coarser feeding stuffs, which have a considerable amount of fiber and 
therefore, smaller amount of digestible matter. Roughage is necessary 
to keep the animal in good condition, as it is an aid to digestion. Con- 
centrates are feeding stuffs of a concentrated nature, which have a small 
amount of fiber and, therefore, a relatively large amoun t of digestible ma tter. 

Digestion. — As the bodies of the domestic animals are composed 
of protein, fat, mineral substances, dry substances and water, these must 
be supplied in the food which the animal consumes. The changes, which 
the food undergoes within the digestive tract of the animal to prepare 
it for absorption and for utiHzation by the animal bodies are known as 
digestion. Digestion is accomplished by the enzymes, or feiments, pro- 
duced by the glands of the mouth stomach, pancreas, the small intestines 
and the liver. Bacteria found in various paths of the alimentary canal 
help to break down the food also, especially the fibrous materials. A 
nutrient is any food constituent, or group of food constituents, that help 
in the support of animal life. There are three primary classes of nutrients, 
viz., crude protein, the carbohydrates and the fats. Air, water and min- 
eral matter might also be classed with nutrients, but are usually excluded 
from this category. When it has been found that the above substances 
are digested by the domestic animals, they are termed digestible nutrients. 

Rations. — A ration on the farm is the feed allowed, or set apart, to 
support a given animal for a day of 24 hours, whether all of the food is 
given at one time, or is divided into portions given at intervals throughout 
the day. There are several kinds of rations recognized in the feeding of 
animals. A complete or a balanced ration is the feed or combination of 
food stuffs which will supply the several nutrients, crude protein, carbo- 
hydrates and fats in the right amounts, and in the right proportions with- 
out excess of any nutrient, so as to nourish a given animal for one day. 
A maintenance ration is one that furnishes enough, but no more, of each 
and all of the several nutrients than is required to maintain a given resting 
animal, so that it will neither gain nor lose in weight. 

As the character of the alimentary tract with its associated glands 
and other organs are considered by the ana tomist and as the processes of 



FEEDS AND FEEDING II9 

mastication, the digestion in the simple stomach of the horse and pig and 
in the three stomachs of the ruminants, and later in the small intestine, by 
the pancreas, the liver and in the large intestine are discussed by the 
animal physiologist, they are omitted from description here. It may be 
said, however, that protein digestion is accomplished by the pepsin in the 
stomach assisted by the trypsin and erepsin in the small intestine. The 
digestion of either starch or sugars consists in converting them into 
glucose, or glucose-like sugars and this transformation takes place 
through the activity of the ptyalin in the saliva and by the amylase formed 
in the small intestine, where the final carbohydrate digestion takes place. 
The fats are digested by the secretions of the pancreas, where a fat splitting 
enzyme lipase is formed which breaks fats into glycerin and fatty acids. 
The bile secretions largely made up of alkaUne salts react with the fatty acids 
to form soaps, which with the glycerin is absorbed by the intestinal wall. ' 

Metabolism, or the process by which the digested nutrients of the 
food are utilized for the production of heat and work, or built up with 
the living matter of the body, or broken down and eliminated, is a sub- 
ject for the consideration of the animal physiologist. 

Digestibility of Animal Foods. — A large number of experiments have 
been performed on animals of various kinds in order to ascertain the 
digestibility of the feeding stufifs. The list of feeds, which have been used 
in these experiments, is a long one. Out of these experiments a number of 
important facts have been adduced. The average percentage of each 
nutrient digested in a feeding stuff is termed the coefficient of digestibiHty, 
or digestion coefficient, for that nutrient in the feed. The food is given 
to the animal by weight and in these trials it is generally assumed that 
all matter appearing in the feces has escaped the action of the digestive 
ferments and so represents the indigestible part of the food. Thus for 
dent corn 90 per cent, of the total dry matter, 74 per cent, of the crude 
protein, 57 per cent, of the fiber, 94 per cent, of the nitrogen-free extract, 
and 93 per cent, of the fat is digestible. Feeds with little fiber have high 
digestibility. To determine the digestible nutrients in any feeding stufif, 
the total amount of each nutrient in lop pounds thereof is multiplied by 
the digestion coefficient for that nutrient. Thus loo pounds of dent corn 
contain lo.i pounds of crude protein of which 74 per cent, is digestible, 
which indicates that there are approximately 7.5 pounds of digestible 
protein in 100 pounds of dent corn. 

Nutritive Ratios. — As protein serves special uses in the body in dis- 
cussions of feeds and rations the term nutritive ratio is used to show the 



I20 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

proportion of digestible protein contained in comparison with the other 
nutrients, so that by nutritive ratio is meant the ratio which exists in 
any given feeding stuff between the digestible crude protein and the com- 
bined digestible carbohydrates and fat. The nutritive ratios for dent 
corn is determined as follows: The digestible fat in loo pounds of dent 
corn is 4.6 pounds, which is multiplied by 2.25, because fat will produce 
2.25 times as much heat on being burned in the body as do the carbo- 
hydrates. Add the product to 67.8 pounds, the digestible carbohydrate, 
which gives 78.15 and divided by the amount of digestible crude protein 
7.5, which gives as a quotient 10.4, which is the second factor of the ratio. 
The colon is used to express the nutritive ratios thus i : 10.4, which is 
read as follows: for each pound of digestible crude protein in dent corn 
there are 10.4 pounds of digestible carbohydrates, or fat equivalent. It 
follows from the above that a narrow nutritive ratio is one having much 
crude protein in proportion to carbohydrates and fat combined. A wide 
ratio is where the percentage of crude protein is small compared to the 
carbohydrates and fats. Linseed meal rich in protein has the narrow ratio 
of I : 1.6; oats I : 6.3, while oat straw has the wide ratio of i :44.6, because 
of its low content of crude digestible protein. Carbonaceous feeds are 
those with a wide nutritive ratio. Nitrogenous feeds are those with a 
narrow nutritive ratio. 

Energy of Food. — The energy of the animal body is derived from the 
food which serves as the fuel in supplying that energy. The full value of 
a feeding stuff is ascertained by burning a weighed quantity of it in pure 
oxygen gas under pressure in an apparatus called a calorimeter. The 
evolved heat is taken up by water surrounding the burning chamber and 
is measured with a thermometer, the units of measurement being the calorie 
and the therm. A calorie is the amount of heat required to raise the tem- 
perature of I kilogram of water i°C. or i pound of water nearly 4°F., A. 
therm is 1,000 Calories, or the amount of heat required to raise 1,000 kilo- 
grams of water i°C. or 1,000 pounds of water nearly 4°F. 

The full value of 100 pounds of 

Anthracite coal 358.3 Therms 

Timothy hay with 15 pc moisture 175.1 Therms 

Pure digestible protein 263.1 Therms 

Pure digestible carbohydrates 186.0 Therms 

Pure digestible fat 422.0 Therms 



FEEDS AND FEEDING 121 

The available energy is the fuel value of any food after deducting the 
losses due to the evacuation of undigested food, the fermentations of 
foods, the excretion of urea and other protein bodies. Besides the energy 
yielding foods, there are a few substances like the vitamines which in 
minutely small quantities are necessary for the maintenance of health 
besides certain mineral substances, such as those which control the life 
processes. 

As a result of the knowledge of feeds and feeding given above, scien- 
tists have drawn up tables showing the amount of each class of nutrients, 
which are known as the feeding standards. Thus, Haecker of the Min- 
nesota Station found that the i,ooo-lb. dry, barren cow can be maintained 
on 0.6 lb. of crude protein, 6 lbs. of carbohydrates and o.i lb. of fat, all 
digestible. A i,ooo-lb. milk-producing cow should be allowed 0.7 lb. of 
crude protein, 7 lbs. of carbohydrates and o.i lb. of fat, all digestible. 
These feeding standards are at variance with the Wolff-Lehmann feeding 
standards where a cow yielding 22 lbs. of milk requires 29 lbs. of dry 
matter, 2.5 lbs. of protein, 13 lbs. of carbohydrates, 0.5 lb. of fat. The 
nutritive ratio is i :5.7. A horse at medium work, according to the Wolff- 
Lehmann feeding standard requires 24 lbs. of dry matter, 20. lbs. of crude 
protein, 1 1 lbs. of carbohydrates, 0.6 lb. of fat with the nutritive ratio i :6.2. 

Bibliography 

Allen, E. W.: The Feeding of Farm Animals. Farmers' Bulletin 22, U. S. Department 

of Agriculture, 1895. 
Armsby, Henry P.: The Maintenance of Rations of Farm Animals. Bulletin 143, 

Bureau of Animal Industry, 191 2. 
G.^RDNER, Frank D. with Collaborators: Successful Farming. Ready Reference 

on all Phases of Agriculture for Farmers of the United States and Canada. The 

John C. Winston Company, Philadelphia, 191 6, pages 562-572. 
Hall, A. D.: The Book of Rothamsted Experiments. E. P. Dutton and Company, 

New York, 1905, pages 240-259. 
Henry, W. A. and Morrison, F. B. : Feeds and Feeding. A Handbook for the Student 

and the Stockman. The Henry-Morrison Company, Madison, Wisconsin, 

Fifteenth Edition, 1915. 
LusK, Graham: Science of Nutrition. W. B. Saunders Company, 3d edition, 1918. 

Laboratory Work 

The laboratory period corresponding to this lesson may be devoted to an oral or a 
written test, which should be given occasionally as a matter of review and to try out 
the proficiency of the different members of the class. 



CHAPTER II 

THE STRUCTURE AND GENERAL ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE 

OF GRASSES 

The grass family, Graminaccoe, is the most important family econom- 
ically speaking in the whole vegetable kingdom. It includes several 
thousand species, all of them with a few exceptions (see ante) being with- 
out any deleterious properties. The vegetational associations where 
grasses control the faces are known as meadows, prairies, pampas, steppes 
and savannahs. 

Habit. — The grass family includes low, erect herbs. A few, such as 
the bamboos, are shrubs, or trees. Some grasses are creeping, others 
trailing, semi-erect, erect and unbranched, or very freely branching from 
the base (Fig. 46). Several, although perennial, are monocarpic, flower- 
ing and fruiting but once. In duration grasses are annuals, winter 
annuals, living through the winter and sending up flower stalks the 
next spring, or are perennials. 

Roots. — Their roots are fibrous, and secondary, that is, there is never 
at any time a primary root. The roots in such grasses as maize may be 
divided into the horizontal, feeding roots penetrating the soil at no great 
depth, the deep roots (3 3-^ feet in corn) for anchorage and the prop roots 
which develop as aerial roots from the lowermost nodes of the upright 
stem and later enter the soil bracing the stem during storms of wind. 
Occasionally, the deep roots draw upon the deep-seated supplies of water, 
especially in arid countries, where such grasses, as the bufifalo grass 
(Buchloe), grow to a depth of seven feet. Ordinarily in the grasses with 
horizontal underground stems, the roots spring freely from the nodes and 
from tufts of short spreading character. The interlacement of the 
subterranean roots and stems is so compact in areas where grasses domi- 
nate in herbage, that shrubs and trees are unable to establish themselves 
in competition with the grasses and this is one of the cogent reasons for 
the treelessness of i)rairies and other characteristic grasslands, such as 
the pampas of South America. 



ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF GRASSES 



123 



Stems. — The stems of grasses are divided into nodes and internodes 
and are called culms (halms, 
haulms). The nodes are 
usually enlarged always solid 
joints, while the internodes 
are hollow (bamboo and most 
other grasses), or solid (maize 
and sugar cane). The under- 
giound stems, or rootstocks 
(rhizomes) , are likewise jointed 
and have sometimes, as in the 
marram grass, a hard, sharp- 
pointed, growing apex, which 
enables the rootstock to push 
its way through the resistant 
soil. Occasionally, as in the 
reed Phragmites communis of 
our eastern fenlands, rhizomes 
are found, as thick, as a 
fountain pen, and 5.8 meters 
long, enabling this marsh grass 
to spread with great rapidity 
in the occupation of new areas 
of marshland. Two types of 
branching of the erect stem 
have been distinguished. The 
extravaginal method is where 
the new lateral branch breaks 
through the sheaths of the 
basal leaves of the stem giving 
rise to horizontal branches. 
This method of branching is 
typical of the sod-, or turf- 
forming grasses, and these 
alone are suitable in the con- 
struction of lawns, croquet Fi^. 46— Wheat plant showing the general habit 

of grasses. (Robbtns.) 
grounds and golf courses. The 

prairies of the middle west owe their closed turf to the presence of 




124 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



grasses of Ihis sort. The second method of branching has been termed 
the intravaginal where the new branches grow inside of the sheath 
parallel to the stem, finally breaking out at the top of the sheath. 
Such grasses are known as bunch, hassock, or tussock grasses and are 
characteristic of the western plains, or steppes of the world, where the 
tufts of grasses are separated by intervals of soil bare of grasses. When 
the stem of grasses, especially agricultural grasses, such as maize, rye and 
wheat, are prostrated by a wind storm, they are said to be lodged. 
No mechanical tissue, which the stem may have, will prevent lodging, if 
the wind be sufficiently strong. Frequently after lodging, the stem will 




tertiary stem 
—scale leaf 
'-secondar'j stem 
-primary stem 

(J — -^crown roots 



C— grain remains 



l_j^9pnmaru roots 



Fig. 47. — Diagrammatic representation ot tillering in cereals. {Rohbins after 

Schindler.) 



erect itself again, but at an angle. This is in response to the stimulus 
of gravity (geotropism). There remains on the upper side of each grass 
stem node a zone of cells capable of growth partly belonging to the 
enlarged base of the sheath and partly to the swollen node. The cells 
of the lower side of this nascent area begin to grow and the stem 
bends upward in response to this growth. The production of a number 
of new upright branches from the lower nodes of the stem in grasses is 
known as "mooting," "stooling" or "tillering" (Fig. 47). The individual 
branches are called " tillers '' and the entire mass of branches is known as 
the "stool." This method of tillering is found in cultivated oats and 



ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF GRASSES 



125 



wheat plants. Stoloniferous grasses are those which produce horizontal 
stems at or above the surface of the soil. The horizontal stems are called 
runners, or stolons, as in buffalo grass {Buchloe). 

Leaves. — The leaves of grasses arise at the nodes, a single leaf at each 
node. They are arranged in two ranks (distichous) with the third leaf 
over the first leaf, so that this arrangement is represented by the frac- 
tion i'^, standing for the distichy. The grass leaf consists of three parts, 
the sheath, the ligule and the blade. The sheath is always open, or 
split, along one side and may be half 
as long as an internode, as long, one 
and a half times as long, twice as long 
as the internode along side of which it 
arises from the node below. The ligule, 
or rain-guard, takes on various forms. 
Usually it is membranous and fits 
tightly like a collar around the stem 
preventing the dust-laden rain from 
running down inside of the sheath (Fig. 
48) . The blade of grass leaves is linear 
or ribbon-like with parallel veins and 
usually an acute, or acuminate apex. 
Grass leaves capable of rolling and 
unrolling show in cross sections a group 
of enlarged epidermal cells, between the 
vascular bundles, the bulliform cells. 
These cells absorb water in wet weather 
and the leaves flatten out. In dry 
weather, the bulliform cells lose water 
and the leaf blades roll up. 

Inflorescence and Flowers. — The grass inflorescence, or flower clus- 
ter, is a spike of spikelets, a raceme of spikelets, or a panicle of spikelets. 
The spikelet is the ultimate division of the inflorescence and its parts are 
arranged in a distichous manner on a shortened axis known as the rachilla. 
The lower scales of the spikelet are bractlets known as the glumes. These 
are always empty and do not have flowers in their axils. Above these 
glumes are the flowers, or florets (Fig. 49). The variations in the mor- 
phology, arrangement, etc., of the spikelets are of the most diverse kind, 
and upon these characters depend largely the classification of the grasses. 




Pig. 48. — Barley. A, portion of 
leaf at juncture of leaf and blade; B, 
stem cut in median lengthwise section. 
X2j2- (Robbins.) 



126 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL JJOTANY 



Sometimes there is only one flower in the spikelet. This may be herma- 
phrodite, or it may be slaminate, or pistillate. Frequently the spikelet 
has several to many florets all of which are perfect, or the upper florets 
may be imperfect, or sterile, and the lowermost perfect, or vice versa. 
Sometimes the flower is represented in the spikelet by one of its subtend- 
ing scale leaves. The bractlet which subtends the floret is known as the 
lemma (flowering glume) and the inner scale opposed to the outer is the 
palet, or palea (Fig. 50). Frequently the lemma bears a bristle-like 
outgrowth, or awn, and this may be barbed. In many grasses, the 





Fig. 49. Fig. 50. 

Fig. 49.— Single spikelet of common wheat (Trilicum'astivum). X2. (Robbins.) 
Fig. 50. — Rye (Secale cereale). A, a single spikelet at a joint on the rachis; B, 
grain, external view; C, grain in cross-section. A, X2^2! -^ and C, X5. (Robbins.) 

perianth segments of ordinary monocotyledons, such as the lily, are repre- 
sented by three (bamboos), two (most grasses), or a single small body 
known as a lodicule, or a squamula. It is the swelling of these lodicules 
which causes the separation of lemma from palet permitting the anthers 
and styles to emerge. A floret without lodicules never opens. The 
stamens of the grasses have long filaments and anthers, which are really 
adnate, but by the growth of the anther lobes below the point of attach- 
ment of the filament and the final swinging of the anther in the wind, the 
whole arrangement strongly suggests the versatile anther. Most grasses 



ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF GRASSES 



127 




11 ,i" 




Fig. 51. — Timothy {Phleum praiense). A, single spikelet; B, spikelet with glumes 
removed; C, pistil. {Robbins.) 




't jiarch\j 
I endosperm 

"P^^flflU^ ^ aieurone-^ 




coleoptile — ^ 

(CO 

epi 




scutelium — V:;=^:::!l 



h\jpocoiyl — 



root 

coleorhiza 



■ - groove 



cylindnc 
epithelium 



vascalar 

bunale of 

scijielivm 



drowinf^ 
poini 
'oj Mem 



Pig. 52. Fig. 53. 

Fig. 52. — Diagram of A, lily flower, and B, grass flower showing homologous struc- 
tures. A, f, bract; ax, axis; op, outer part ot perigonium; ip, inner part of perigonium; 
s, stamens; c, tricarpellary 3-celled ovary. B, shaded structures are aborted; le, glume 
(bract); a:*:, axis; ^,palet, and p', lemma (outer perianth); I and I' lodicules (inner part 
of perigonium); 5 and i', two whorls of stamens; c, tricarpellary i-celled ovary. (B. 
Robbins after Schuster.) 

Fig. S3- — Part of a median lengthwise section of a grain of wheat; much enlarged. 

(Robbins after Strasbiirger.) 



128 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

have three stamens, some bamboos have six, while some grasses have 
two and even one stamen. The pollen grains are smooth and wind dis- 
tributed (anemophily). The grass ovary is superior one-celled, one- 
ovuled and bears terminally two feathery styles, stigmatic along their 
whole hairy surface (Figs. 51 and 52). Maize has only one hairy style, 
but the presence of two vascular bundles suggests that it has arisen by 
the fusion of two elongated styles. Rice has occasionally three styles. 

The fruit of grasses is one-seeded, dry and indehiscent, and hence, 
belongs to the class of achenial fruits. It is known as a caryopsis, 
or grain fruit. In this type of fruit the ovary wall (pericarp) is closely 
united to the seed coat, whereas in barley and oats the chaff firmly sur- 
rounds the ovary wall. The embryo is usually in touch with the seed 
coats on one side of the kernel and the reserve food, as starchy endo- 
sperm fills up the remainder of the space (Fig. 53). Sometimes, as in 
maize, there is in addition a horny endosperm which imparts hardness to 
the grain. 

Economic Uses of Ge asses 

The forage grasses, those used as food for cattle, are of the most im- 
portance from an economic standpoint. "All flesh is grass" is as true 
today, as it was in bible times. They may be divided into three groups 
to be considered in detail in the next chapter, viz., the pasture grasses, 
the hay grasses and the fodder grasses. The cereals are those grasses 
which are grown for their grain. The most important are the common 
head wheat (Triticum acstivum), the durum wheat {Triticum durum), 
the oats {Avena sativa), the barley (Hordeum vulgare), the rye {Secale 
cereale), maize {Zca mays), the sorghums (Andropogon haUpensis), which 
includes sorgo, kaffir, milo, broom corn, shallu, kowliang, dura, lice 
{Oryza sativa), wild rice (Zizania aquatica, Z. palustris) and millet 
{Panicum miliaceum). 

The sugar-producing grasses are the sugar cane (Saccharum officinanim), 
maize (Zea mays) and Chinese sugar-millet (Sorghum saccharatum) . The 
medicinal grasses '\nc\\xdQ conch gxdiss {A gropyr on re pens), the dried rhizome 
of which is collected in the spring, and a fluid extract made from it used 
as a domestic remedy in fever, jaundice, gout, etc. Its sole employment 
to-day is as a gentle, soothing diuretic in acute inflammations of the 
urinary passages. Other grasses have somewhat similar diuretic properties. 
The edible grasses are mainly represented by the species of bamboo in 



ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF GRASSES 1 29 

China, the tops of which are used as vegetables. Canned bamboo sprouts 
are not uncommonly found in the Chinese grocery stores in all of our large 
cities. 

The best lawn grasses are the Kentucky blue-grass {Poa pratmsis), 
red-top {Agrostis alba var. vulgaris) and the Rhode Island bent grass 
{Agrostis canina). For the extreme south, Bermuda-grass {Cynodon 
dactylon) and crab-grass {Stenotaphrum americanum) are the best. 

The grasses which are suitable for the edgings, beds and borders of the 
garden are Provence cane {Arundo donax,A. conspicua), maize {Zta mays), 
pampas-grass (Gynerium argenkum), Eulalia, ribbon-grass (Phalaris 
arundinacea var. picta) and some of the Japanese bamboos which are 
hardy in northern latitudes. For interior decoration, the above grasses 
can be cut and used either smgly, or in masses, but the inflorescences of 
the seaside oats ( Uniola paniculata) are gathered for this purpose and also 
the tall red top {Tridens flavus), reed {Phragmites communis), reed 
meadow grass {Glyceria septentrionalis) and others which can be tied into 
bunches and placed in vases and other receptacles. The holy grass 
{Hierochloe odorata) is manufactured into fragrant baskets by the eastern 
Indians and the dried bleached straws of the Kentucky blue grass are 
woven into straw hats. The marram grass {Ammophila arenaria) is 
the most important species for the binding of the drifting sands of 
wandering dunes. 

Paper can be made from the fibrous matter in the stems of a number of 
grasses principally maize from which a very good grade of paper can be 
made. Corn stalks have not been used extensively in this country as yet 
for paper, but with the fast disappearing spruce forests attention will no 
doubt be directed to maize as an abundant source of material for paper 
pulp. Esparto grass {Macrochloa tenacissima) is also extensively used in 
the manufacture of paper. 

In the tropics, the bamboos of the larger size are used for a variety of 
purposes. They are used as the upright posts and rafters in house con- 
struction. In the split condition, they form the walls and partitions of 
the native houses and bungalows. They are used for roofing, for rain 
spouts, for water pipes, for flower pots, for buckets, for bridge construction 
and for many other purposes. The various species of bamboos are indis- 
pensable to the dwellers of the tropical countries of the world. 

The vetiver, or kus-kus, is the very sweet-scented fibrous root of 
Andropogon muricatus, or grass of India, used to perfume rooms and to 



130 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

preserve clothing from the attack of insects. The roots are made into 
fans and worked into slips of bamboo to form the screens used to mitigate 
the heat in India. 

Bibliography 

Carrier, Lyman: The Identification of Grasses by their Vegetative Characters. Bull. 

461, U. S. Department of Agriculture, January 19, 1917. 
Clark, Geo. H. and Walter, M. Oscar: Fodder and Pasture Plants. Department of 

Agriculture, Dominion of Canada, Ottawa, 1913. 
Le Maout, Emm and Decaisne, J., transl. by Mrs. Hooker: A System of Botany, 

Descriptive and Analytical. London, 1873, pages 880-892. 
Li>fDLEY, John: The Vegetable Kingdom. London, 1853, pages io6-ii6i. 
Rendle, Alfred B. : The Classification of Plants. Vol. i, Cambridge at the University 

Press, 1904, pages 220-241. 
RoBBiNS, Wilfred W.: The Botany of Crop Plants. A Text and Reference Book. 

P. Blakiston's Son & Co., Philadelphia, 191 7, pages 69-90. 

Laboratory Work 

I. As this part of the botanical study will come in the early spring months fresh 
grasses, such as sweet vernal (Anthoxanllium odoraium), orchard grass (Daclylis 
glomerata), perennial rye grass {Loliiim percnne) and Kentucky blue grass (Poa 
pratensis) may be studied. If this chapter is reached in the dead of winter, dried 
spikes of the common r>'e or any other large grass may be used to begin the study 
of the structure of the grass spikelet, glumes, lemma, palea, stamens, ovary and 
plumose styles. Whole rye plants, or other suitable grasses, should be gathered by the 
teacher just before the stamens protrude from the chaffy scales of the spikelet. 
Several hun^dred plants can be tied together with string and the bundle wrapped in 
newspaper to protect the plants from dust and hard usage. Such dried plants are 
almost as satisfactory for a detailed study of the rye as fresh specimens. Other 
grasses preserved in a similar way should be used for comparison with the rye. The 
drill should be on the structure of the spikelets and florets of each kind. Drawings 
should be made. 

2. Kernels of corn, wheat and oats should be drawn and at the same time examined 
by the class. Attention should be drawn to all of the points in the external morphology 
of such grains. 

3. Cut longitudinal and cross sections with a pen knife of both dry and soaked 
kernels of the above cereals and others, if time permits. Attention should be drawn 
to the varieties of corn as shown in section for starchy oil and protein. Treat 
the cut surfaces with iodine, which brings out nicely the relative position of embryo 
and reserve starch. 

4. The class should be provided with stained sections of wheat for microscopic 
study to show pericarp, aleurone layer and starchy endosperm. 



CHAPTER 12 
DESCRIPTION OF IMPORTANT GRASS FORAGE PLANTS 

There have appeared a number of important books on the subject of 
forage plants, and as these books are readily available to the student of 
agronomy, no attempt will be made in the following pages to give an 
exhaustive treatment of the forage grasses. The object will be to give a 
few of the essential details for the benefit of the student, who does not 
expect to study the forage plants exhaustively, but yet desires to have an 
acquaintance with the more important kinds. 

Timothy. Herd's Grass {Phhum pratense). — This grass was intro- 
duced by Timothy Hansom of Maryland from England in 1720, hence 
the common name. It had an earlier introduction into cultivation by 
John Herd, who found it growing wild in New Hampshire, as early as 
1700. 

Description. — The plant is perennial with short rootstocks and, there- 
fore, it has a somewhat tufted growth. The smooth stems are from two to 
five feet tall and in dry soil the base of the stem may be slightly bulbous. 
The leaves are rolled inward at first from one side and then are later ex- 
panded with short blades. The inflorescence is a close spike of spikelets 
(Fig. '54). The spikelets are one-flowered. Each flower is subtended by 
a hyaline, toothed, awnless lemma and a narrow hyaline palet. The 
subtending glume^ of the spikelet are truncate with short awns and cov- 
ered with stiff hairs. The caryopsis is ovoid from 3^15 to \^2 irich in 
diameter, usually inclosed in the lemma and palet at maturity. There 
are about 6co,ooo to 2,000,000 seeds to the pound, the weight varying 
with the size of the seeds. The standard of germination is 90 per cent, 
and the purity of the seed should be not less than 98 per cent. 

Soils. — Timothy is superior to any other grass for hay and it is well 
adapted for growth on cold, moist, or wet lands, particularly with heavy 
clay soils, although it succeeds best on moist loams and clays. It is not 
grown successfully on some soils, or in shallow soils with a rocky bed 
underneath. This grass shows innumerable unrecognized varieties only 
three or four of which are of agricultural importance. Although the 

131 



132 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 




Fig. 54. — Timothy (Phleum pralense) grown in hard, dry soiL (After Smith, Jared G. 
Meadows and Pastures — Farmers' Bulletin 66, 1904, p. 18.) 



DESCRIPTION OF IMPORT-ANT GRASS FORAGE PLANTS 1 33 

plant is perennial, there are biennial forms and tall annual forms. There 
is also a great range in the time of blooming. 

Seeding. — The customary amount of timothy seed to sow, if used 
alone is 15 pounds, or one-third of a bushel per acre. If red clover is used 
with timothy, then the usual amount of timothy seed is 9 pounds, or one- 
fifth of a bushel per acre. It has been found by trial that better results 
are obtained by sowing the above amount than twice that quantity. The 
Rhode Island Agricultural Experiment Station recommends Tor meadows, 
the following per acre : 

Timothy seed 15 pounds 

Fancy red top .' 7.5 pounds 

Red clover 7.5 pounds 

Rotations. — The farmers of the North Atlantic and North Central 
states use timothy in nearly all of their rotations. The most common 
rotation consists of maize, oats and wheat each one year, followed by 
timothy and red clover for two or more years, the clover disappearing 
after one or more years. Timothy may be sown either in the fall or in the 
spring with any small grain that is sown at the time. A good stand will 
be obtained more frequently by sowing in the fall except in the dry prairie 
states of the northwest where the best results are obtained by spring 
sowing. As timothy is a late grass, the usual time of cutting is in July, 
and this is an advantage, because during the summer it cures more 
quickly, than if cut earlier. 

Yield. — The total yield of dry matter per acre of timothy in Connecti- 
cut, when in full bloom, was 3,300 pounds, in Illinois 3,285 pounds, in 
Pennsylvania 2,585 pounds. When the seed was nearly ripe the yield 
per acre was in Connecticut 3,615 pounds, in Illinois 4,065 pounds, in 
Pennsylvania 3,065 pounds. Timothy generally produces between five 
and twelve bushels of seed per acre. The grass is most conveniently cut 
with the self-binder and is threshed with the ordinary threshing machine, 
using special sieves to clean the seed. Timothy hay contains about 
6 per cent, protein, 45 per cent, of carbohydrates, 2.5 per cent, of fat and 
29 per cent, of crude fiber, of these substances about half are digestible. 
Kentucky Blue Grass, June Grass {Poa pratensis). — This useful grass 
is perennial with an extensively creeping rhizome, which produces leafy 
stems in bunches at intervals along its length. The stem of blue grass 
grows from 18 inches to 2^^ feet taJl. The basal leaves are longer than 



I.u 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



the upper stem leaves. The panicle is pyramidal with, its slender remote 
branches with 3 to 5 fascicles. The spikelets a^e crowded, 3-5 flowered. 
The lemmas are cobwebby at the base (Fig. 55). This is a common grass 
in meadows and fields throughout the United States and in British Colum- 




FiG. 55. 



-Kentucky blue grass (Poa pralensis.) (After Ball, Carleion R.: Winter Forage 
Crops for the South, Farmers' Bulletin 147, 1902, p. 19.) 



bia. It is naturalized in the east, but is indigenous in the north and west. 
It gets its name Kentucky blue grass, because it thrives in the Umestone 
soils of certain districts of Kentucky, which on this account are cele- 
brated for their fine breeds of horses and cattle. 



DESCRIPTION OF IMPORTANT GRASS FORAGE PLANTS 



135 



Adaptability. — This grass and its congener the Canadian blue grass 
{Poa comprcssa) (Fig. 56) are adapted to a cool, moist cUmate with 30 in- 
ches of rainfall and upward. They are resistant to cold, never freezing 
out in zero weather. They prefer well-drained loams, or clay loams some- 




FiG. 56. — Canada blue grass {Poa compressa); a, spikelet; &, floret; c, magnified 
view of cross section of flattened stem; d, magnified cross section of a leaf blade. {After 
Smith, JaredG.: Meadows and Pastures, Farmers' Bulletin, 66, 1904, p. 24.) 

what retentive of moisture, but are not well-suited for growth in sandy 
soils. The Canadian blue grass will grow on poorer soils than the Ken- 
tucky blue grass. The blue grasses are not suitable for hay, as the yield 
is low, but as pasture grasses and for the construction of lawns, they are un- 



136 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

excelled in the temperate regions of North America. They are valuable 
for summer pasture and winter pasture, and if used for the latter purpose 
they should not be closely pastured during the summer months. Drought 
inhibits the growth of Kentucky blue grass. 

Seeding. — The number of seeds per pound varies from 2,185,000 to 
3,888,000. Usually 40 pounds of commercial seed per acre is sown alone 
when a good stand is desired. It is usually mixed with other seeds in the 
formation of permanent pasture. The following is the usual composition 
of such mixtures, costing about $3 to $4 per acre. 

Timothy 15 pounds 

Kentucky blue grass 10 pounds 

Meadow fescue 2 pounds 

Red clover 8 pounds 

White clover 2 pounds 

The grass seeds of such a mixture are sown in Septeniber and the clover 
seeds, as early as possible in the spring. In the construction of lawns at 
least 40 pounds of 50 per cent, viable seed of Kentucky blue grass should 
be used alone or with white clover. In another formula for the making 
of lawns, the bulk of the seed used is Kentucky blue grass mixed with 
red-top and Rhode Island bent grass. The advantage of using several 
kinds of grass is that the first comers hold possession of the ground, or act 
as a nurse crop, until the stronger, but slower-growing, Kentucky blue 
grass gets complete root hold when, in the struggle for life, the earlier 
grasses are gradually excluded. Kentucky blue grass is considered one of 
the most troublesome weeds in New Zealand. 

Redtop {Agrostis alba). — This native grass of North America is perhaps 
the third, or fourth most important perennial grass of our country. The 
culms are a foot (3 dm.) to 3 feet (10 dm.) tall from a creeping or stolo- 
niferous rootstock. The leaves are flat, stiff and upright to lax and 
spreading. The panicle is contracted after flowering of a greenish, purple, 
or brown color with its branches slightly roughish. The spikelet is one- 
flowered. The lemmas nearly equal the glumes. They are 3-nerved, 
rarely short awned. The palea are one-half to two-thirds as long as the 
lemmas. 

The variety vulgaris is known as Herd's Grass in Pennsylvania. It 
has shorter, more slender culms with smaller more branching panicles 
and narrow leaves. The variety stoloniftra (not the A . stolonijera) is a 



DESCRIPTION OF IMPORTANT GRASS FORAGE PLANTS I37 

form with stoloniferous habit used for lawns and is known as ''creeping 
bent," Agrostis canina, is the Rhode Island Bent cultivated also as a 
lawn grass. Redtop resembles superficially Kentucky blue grass, but it 
is distinguished from the latter by the purple color of the panicle and the 
smaller and more numerous i -flowered spikelets, while the spikelets 
of Foa praknsis are 3- to 5-flowered. Redtop flowers usually a month to 
two months later than the Kentucky blue grass. The seeds of redtop 
have a silvery appearance, one pound consisting of from 4,135,000 (Illi- 
nois Station) to 6,400,000 (North Carolina Station). 

Sowing. — Redtop seed is usually sowed in amounts from 6 to 30 pounds 
per acre, when sown alone, and 6 to lo pounds, when sown with timothy, 
or timothy and red clover. It should be sown about the same time as 
timothy. Like Kentucky blue grass, it is aggressive and frequently 
takes full possession of the land. Redtop thrives under a greater range 
of climate and soil than any other cultivated grass. Its value as a hay 
crop is next to timothy. It is adapted to low, moist lands and frequently 
forms one of the stages in the succession of grass herbage on old abandoned 
wagon tracts across grassland, or the open prairie. It will grow on poor 
soil, which it gradually improves. 

Yield. — The yield of hay ranges from 3,000 to 5,000 pounds per acre. 
If harvested, when fully mature, it makes a fibrous and unpalatable 
hay. Analyses show that redtop hay contains more nutrients than 
timothy hay. 

Orchard Grass (Dactylis glomerata). — Another name for this grass in 
England and New Zealand is cocksfoot. This grass with a bluish-green 
cast of foliage usually grows in clumps, as a bunch grass with culms 8 
inches to 2 feet tall and broadly linear leaves. The spikelets are in dense 
one-sided clusters in close panicles. The spikelets are 2-5 flowered, com- 
pressed, nearly sessile in dense fascicles. The lemmas are 5-nerved with 
ciliate keels and are short awned. The palea are shorter than the lemmas. 
(Fig. 57)- 

Seeding. — The commercial seeds are enclosed in the chaff. Orchard 
grass can be purchased with 100 per cent, purity. The number of seeds 
per pound may vary from 400,000 to 480,000. When sown alone, 35 
pounds of seed are used per acre, when intended for hay, and 15 pounds 
per acre, when intended for seed. It may be seeded either in the fall 
or very early in the spring, but whenever sown, it rarely gives a hay crop 
the first year. 



i3« 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



Cultivation.- — Orchard grass may come through the winter unscathed 
by the cold, but it is susceptible to late spring frosts after it has begun its 
growth. It grows well in the shade and grows best on a fairly fertile, 
well-drained soil. It requires a generous supply of moisture, but can 
stand periodic droughts fairly well and its duration is superior to timothy, 

when used for hay it should be 
cut as soon as it is in full bloom. 
Orchard grass is abundant about 
Philadelphia, but it can scarcely 
be said to be cultivated. Spillman 
in his " Farm Grasses of the 
United States" states that it is 
relatively most extensively culti- 
vated in Virginia, North Carolina, 
Tennessee, namely, along the 
southern border of the timothy 
region. The Agricultural Experi- 
ment Station of Arkansas recom- 
mends the use of orchard grass 
for permanent meadows and pas- 
tures, as the best grass for that 
purpose. It also thrives west of 
the Cascade mountains in the 
Pacific northwest. 

Meadow Foxtail (Alopecurus 
pratensis). — This grass resembles 
timothy, for which it is sometimes 
taken by the uninitiated, but its 
stems are not so tall, its heads 
are shorter, and it blooms fully a 
month earlier than timothy. It 
grows 1-3 feet tall and develops 
short, creeping rhizomes. The 
sheaths of its leaves are loose, the upper usually inflated. The spike- 
lets are i-flowered, flattened. The lemma equals the acute, ciliate 
glumes with an exserted awn. The seed is produced sparingly, is of poor 
vitality, and therefore, costly. The number of seeds per pound is 
1,216,000, and most of the commercial seed comes from abroad. 




Fig. 57. — Orchard grass (Dactylis glome- 
rala) . (After Ball, Carleton R. : Winter Forage 
Crops for the South, Farmers' Bulletin 147, 
1902, p. 21.) 



DESCRIPTION OF IMPORTANT GRASS FORAGE PLANTS 1 39 

Growth and Hay. — It grows best on good soils and it is the chief grass 
of the richer natural pastures of Great Britain. It reaches maturity two, or 
three years after sowing and growing best in wet meadows, where it is to 
be ranked, as one of the earliest pasture grasses to start its growth in the 
spring. The hay of meadow foxtail is sweet and nutritive, especially 
before the formation of seed, as the sugar is drawn from stem and leaves 
and is used in the formation of the reserve materials of the seeds. It 
forms when grown an abundance of excellent pasture and all kinds of 
stock like it. 

Smooth Brome Grass (Bromus inermis). — This is a grass of recent 
introduction, perennial by a creeping rootstock. The stems are stout form- 
ing heavy clumps, but when the soil is seeded abundantly these clumps 
unite to form a compact sod. The roots penetrate deeply, hence this 
grass is adapted to a wide range of climatic conditions. The panicles are 
large and with spreading branches. The spikelets are one inch long and 
brownish-red when old. Each spikelet has from seven to nine flowers, 
each enclosed by two more or less blunt scales. The lemmas are without 
awns. 

Smooth Brome Grass thrives on loose comparatively poor land, 
where more valuable grasses might be a failure. It is valued because of 
its drought-resisting qualities producing in dry summers more green forage 
than any other grass. It is adapted to western Canada on account of its 
hardiness. It is sown at the rate of ten to twelve pounds of seed to the 
acre. It should be cut before flowering, as it becomes hard and less 
palatable. The smooth brome grass has .been grown for centuries upon 
the steppes of Russia, hence it is adapted to a cold climate and a dry soil. 

Blue-Joint Grass {Calamagrostis canadensis). — The blue-joint grass is 
a perennial with creeping rhizome which gives rise to culms 1-3 feet high 
with a clustered habit. The leaves are very rough, glaucous, flat and 
involute in drying. The panicle is spreading with the i -flowered spike- 
lets on slender branches and of a reddish-brown color. The glumes are 
equal, acute, scarcely longer than the lemma, which has an inconspicuous 
awn. The callus hairs are copious about as long as the floret. This grass 
is a native of wet places from eastern Quebec to New Jersey and westward 
and it flowers from June to July. It may be distinguished from red top 
by its awned lemma and the tuft of white silky hairs in each spikelet. 

Blue-joint sometimes occupies large areas to the exclusion of other 
grasses. Hay made from it is of excellent quality and much relished by 



I40 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

Stock. Attempts to grow the grass experimentally at one of the agricult- 
ural experiment stations met with failure, because most of the seeds were 
found to lack vitality. Little is known about the feeding value of blue- 
joint grass. It is, however, of special value for places with very wet soil. 

Fescue Grasses {Festuca elaiior and F. ovina) . — The taller, or meadow 
fescus is Festuca elatior ( — Festuca pratensis) and the sheep's fescue is F. 
ovina. The first mentioned grass is the most important of the two species. 
It is a perennial grass with long fibrous roots with its erect culms reaching a 
height of 15 inches to two feet. The basal leaves have a shining surface 
and an intense, green color, while the stem leaves are flat, not involute, 
as in the sheep's fescue. The panicle is rather close with its branches 
bearing spikelets nearly to its base. The spikelets have lanceolate 
glumes, oblong-lanceolate lemmas, rarely short awned and scabrous at 
the apex. This grass is native to the meadows and waste places through- 
out the United States and southern Canada, naturalized from Europe 
and flowering from June to August. 

Sheep's fescue, which has been introduced from Europe and has 
become naturalized in a few localities in the United States, is a fine-tex- 
tured, small-growing species with a tufted habit, eaten by sheep quite 
freely, but avoided by cattle, if other grasses are more available. 

Meadow fescue was early used as a constituent of the pasture mix- 
tures sold by seedmen and in this way it has been widely distributed 
through the United States. Sown alone it furnishes scant pasturage 
during the hot summer months and the absence of rootstocks prevents its 
successful competition with Kentucky blue-grass. It is, however, ap- 
preciated in a few localities, such as the eastern parts of Kansas and 
Nebraska, where it has proved one of the best pasture grasses. It does 
well in wet places and survives the trampling by stock. It grows suc- 
cessfully on clay soils, although the soil best adpoted to the growth of the 
grass is on heavy black loam. The grass is seeded 10-15 pounds to the 
acre from August 15 to September 15, without the use of a nurse crop. 
It should be utilized more largely in the pasture mixtures of the east- 
central states. 

Sweet Vernal Grass {Anthoxanthum odoratum). — This is a common, 
perennial grass of the meadows, pastures and waste lands in eastern 
United States. Agriculturally speaking it is a grass of secondary im- 
portance, growing from a foot to eighteen inches tall with close spike-like 
panicles and 3-flowered spikelets with the terminal flower perfect and the 



DESCRIPTION or IMPORTANT GRASS FORAGE PLANTS I41 



two lower florets represented solely by a lemma with a long basally at- 
tached awn. It flowers early in the season. 

The dried grass has a characteristic, sweet odor due to the presence 
of cumarin which has been extracted from this and several other plants 
and used in the manufacture of perfume called "new mown hay." Cows 
feeding upon this grass have a 
grassy flavor imparted to the 
milk and the butter made from 
the milk. It was early intro- 
duced into America from Europe, 
where it is native, as also in 
western and north Asia and 
northern Africa. 

Perennial Rye Grass {Lolium 
percnne) and Italian Rye Grass 
{L. italium) (= L. muUiflorum) 
are both of them short-lived, 
rapid-growing, perennial grasses 
with a^ tufted habit due to the 
intravaginal method of branch- 
ing. Perennial rye grass may 
persist two or more years, while 
Italian rye grass rarely lasts more 
than two years. The axis of in- 
florescences of the perennial rye 
grass is smooth with the several 
flowered spikelets set solitarily in 
alternate notches of the axis of 
inflorescence with the edges of 
each spikelet placed against the perenne) 




Pig. 



58.^ — -Perennial rye grass {Lolium 
(After Ball, Carleton R.: Winter 
rachis, so that the inner glume ^<"'a«« C^'ops for the South, Farmers' Bulletin 
•11- rj., ^ 1 • 147. 1902, p. 21.) 

IS lackmg. The outer glume is 

rigid exceeding the lower florets (Fig. 58). The lemma of each floret 
is awnless, while in the Italian rye grass the lemma is provided with 
an awn. The foliage of the Italian rye grass is more abundant and the 
plant grows considerably taller. 

Sowing and Adaptation. — Both species produce seed abundantly and 
germination of commercial seed is about 75 per cent. There are 336,000 



142 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

seeds of perennial rye grass per pound and 285,000 of Italian rye grass. 
The farmer sows about 50 pounds of seed per acre, when sown alone, but 
the perennial rye grass is usually sown in mixture with other grass seeds. 
Italian rye grass is adapted to moist regions with mild winters. It 
succeeds best on loam and sandy loose soils being adapted for hay pur- 
poses and may be cut several times during the growing period. It can 
stand considerable drought, but it is not a suitable grass for districts where 
the summer is dry and hot, and hence, it will never assume any import- 
ance in the prairie regions. 

Belonging to the same group is the tares of the Bible, or bearded darnel, 
Lolium Umulentum; adventive from Europe but rare in grain fields and 
waste places. 




Pig. 59. — Sand dune covered with marram grass {Ammophila arenaria), Gilgo Beach 
South Shore, Long Island, July 8, 1914. 

Marram Grass {Ammophila arenaria). — A description of this grass is 
given here because of its unusual interest as a sand-binding plant. It is 
found on the sandy beaches and sand dunes along the. Atlantic coast fiom 
New Brunswick to North Carolina and on the shores of the Great Lakes 
and in Europe (Fig. 59). It is a coarse, wiry perennial with a long 
creeping root-stock from which tufts of branches and green leaves arise at 
intervals in the growth of the rootstock through the mobile sand. As 
rapidly as the green parts are buried by the shifting sand the rhizome grows 
in length upward toward the surface giving rise to fresh aerial shoots. 
This spreading habit results in the plant presenting an obstacle to the 
movement of the dune sands, so that as the growth of the marram grass 



DESCRIPTION OF IMPORTANT GRASS FORAGE PLANTS 



143 



becomes more matted, the sands are efifectually anchored (Fig. 60). In 
the latter part of August and early September, the pale, straw-yfellow 
spike of spikelets grow up from the subterranean stem. It is propagated 
for sand-binding purposes by cutting the plarit up into lengths, between 
the widely separated tufts, which are planted out in rows along with other 
protective devices. This method of fixing the wandering dunes has been 
used for many years on the Baltic coasts of Europe, in Holland, in Bel- 
gium, on Cape Cod and elsewhere with satisfactory results. 




Fig. 60.- 



-Sand dune with marram grass {Ammophila arenaria) and beach pea {Lalhyrus 
marilimus) , Gilgo Beach, South Shore, Long Island, July 8, 1914. 



Seaside Oats (Uniola paniculata) .■ — This stout grass is found on the 
sand hills and drifting sands of the American coast from Virginia to Florida 
and westward to Texas, where it produces a stout panicle bearing many 
oblong-oval, stramineous spikelets. These panicles are gathered by the 
people of such cities as Wilmington, N. C. and Charlestown, S. C. for 
decoration, being usually placed in vases for that purpose (Fig. 61). This 
grass to a certain extent takes the place of the marram grass in binding 
the sand of southern sea beaches and sand dunes. The description of this 
grass introduces us to a few additional species of grasses which are especi- 
ally useful in the southern states. These grasses are: 



144 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



Bermuda Grass {Cynodon Dactyloti). — It is the most common and most 
valuable pasture grass of the southern states filling the same relative place 
in that region that Kentucky blue grass does in more northern states. 
It is a perennial grass spreading by runners, or by rootstocks, and is pro- 
pagated also by seeds. The runners vary in length from a few inches to 
three or four feet, creeping over the ground and rooting at the joints 
(Fig. 62). The blades of the leaves are narrow, flat, one to four inches 
long, each with a ring of white hairs at the base. The slender flower 
spikes are formed three to six in a cluster radiating out from a common 
stalk in a digitate manner. Each spike is one to two inches long. 




Pig. 



61. — Seaside oat (Uniola paniculata) on dune at Wrightsville Beach, Wihning- 
ton, N. C, August 6, 1911. 



Origin. — Bermuda grass is probably a native of India having been 
introduced to America somewhere about 1807, and it is now common in 
the southern states from Virginia to Florida westward to Arizona and 
California. In Australia, it is commonly known as couch, or Indian 
couch. It grows best in warm weather bearing the intense heat of summer 
without injury, but winter kills easily if subjected to heavy freezing. 
It thrives best on fertile soils not too wet, but better on heavy soils than 
on light ones. It will grow well on soils so alkaline that most other field 
crops and fruit crops will fail. 



DESCRIPTION OF IMPORTANT GRASS FORAGE PLANTS 



145 



Seeding. — Bermuda grass produces seed abundantly in southern 
California, Arizona and New Mexico where most of the commercial 
seed is derived. It is propagated by seeds, or pieces of rootstocks. The 
yield of hay varies greatly with 
the locality in which it is 
grown, and on favorable soils, 
it may yield annually 6 to 8 
tons of hay per acre. On 
soils of ordinary fertility, it will 
support about one steer per 
acre for eight to nine months, 
while on exceptionally favor- 
able soils it may support four 
or five steers for a longer time. 
Its feeding value is fully equal 
to that of timothy, though its 
market value is usually less. 
Frequently, it becomes trouble- 
some as a weed, when it can 
be eradicated by freezing the 
"roots," or by shading the 
ground by the growth, of other 
crops. 

Johnson Grass {Sorghum 
halepense) . — This is another 
grass which figures largely in 
the agriculture of the southern 
states. It is strongly stoloni- 
ferous with culms four to seven 
feet high with long flat leaves, 
and an open panicle six to 
eighteen inches long. It was 
introduced as Aleppo grass from 
Turkey in 1830 by Governor 
Means into South Carolina, and in 1844 into Alabama by Col. William 
Johnson for whom the plant is named. It is propagated by seeds, and 
if it is desired to control the plant, which sometimes becomes trouble- 
some, it should never be permitted to go to seed. It is distributed as 




Pig. 62. — Bermuda grass (Cynodon Dactylon) . 
(After Ball, Carleton R.: Winter Forage Crops for 
the South, Farmers' Bulletin 147, 1902, p. 15.) 



i4t) 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



an avivectent, because the hard, outer covering of the seed is indigestible 
and passes through the digestive tract of cattle unchanged. It produces 
a large amount of good hay with an excellent quality.^ Usually two to 




Fig. 63. — Broom-corn millet {Panicum miliaceum) : a, b, and c, views of the spikelet 
and glumes, or chaff; d and e, two views of the "seed." {After Williams, Thomas A.: 
Millets, Farmers' Bulletin loi, 1899, p 20.) 



three cuttings can be secured. It is not especially valuable as a pasture 
grass, because it does not stand grazing well. 

Guinea Grass {Panicum maximum). — This is an important fodder 
grass in the West Indies, Mexico and other tropical countries where it 



DESCRIPTION OF IMPORTANT GRASS FORAGE PLANTS 



147 



is grown as a soiling crop. It is a perennial grass, but its roots are killed, 

if the ground is frozen. It has short rhizomes from which immense 

tufts of leafage are formed. It may be grown in Florida and the Gulf 

states, \yhere the climatic con- 

ditions are favorable. It is not 

unusual in Mexico to see burros 

almost completely buried out of 

sight,except theirears and noses, 

with guinea grass, which is 

being carried to the nearest 

markets for sale. Sometimes 

ox carts are used to convey the 

guinea grass to the consumers. 

Hay is also obtained from the 

grass, although it is seldom 

used for the purpose. Another 

important species of Panicum is 

P. miliaceum, the broom-corn 

millet (Fig. 63). 

Foxtail Millet {Chaetochloa 
italica). — This grass includes a 
number of different types such 
as the Hungarian (Fig. 64), 
Aino, German and Siberian 
millets. 

The following two grasses 
are natives of the western 
plains states. They were used 
extensively by the wild herds 
of buffalos and eaten by the 
cattle upon a thousand ranches. 
They will figure largely in any 
attempt at restocking the cattle 
ranges with forage plants. 

Grama Grass (Bouteloua gracilis = B 




Fig. 64. — A single plant of Hungarian millet 
(Chaetochloa italica). (After Vinall, H. N.: 
Foxtail Millet, Farmers' Bulletin 793, 1917, p. 12.) 



oligostachya) . — This grass also 
called blue grama is found on the plains and prairies from Manitoba and 
Wisconsin to Mississippi, Arizona and Mexico. It is probably the most 
important of the grama grasses, which include six weeks' grama {B. 



148 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



aristoides) side-oat grama {B. curtipendiila) black grama {B. eriopoda) 
rough grama (B. hirsuta) hairy grama {B. Parryi) and other species of the 
genus. It forms very dense sod and withstands the trampling of cattle 
to a marked degree. It seems to grow more successfully when grazed 
and trampled to some extent, and under favorable conditions of soil it 
may grow sufficiently thick to be used as a hay grass. It is everywhere 
on the mesas and prairies forming a dense mass of herbage of fine and 
curly leaves arising from near the roots of the plant. The flowers bearing 
stems are 6 to i8 inches tall and bear near their summits two to three one- 
sided spikes in form like a tooth brush. This grass is easily propagated 
by seed which can readily be collected. 

The side-oat grama is another common species and the most widely 
distributed of all the true gramas ranging from the Atlantic states west- 
ward to Arizona and south into Mexico. It is a conspicuous and impor- 
tant pasture grass in the rougher portions of the plain regions and in 
southern Arizona, it grows at altitudes mainly between 3,000 and 5,000 
feet. The following analytical table gives the composition of this grass. 



Material Analyzed 



Percent- 
age of 
Moisture 



Water-free Basis (Per cent.) 



Ash 



Ether 
Extract 



Crude 
Fiber 



Nitro- 
gen-free 
Extract 



Protein 



Pen- 
tasans 



Santa Rita Mts., Ariz. . . 
Average of 5 others. . .- . . 
Average of all 



4.60 



8.31 
9.76 

9 63 



1. 59 
1. 8s 

I 94 



32.49 53. 2? 



37 76 
32.86 



45 OS 
49 23 



4-33 
S-S8 
6.34 



25-88 



Buffalo Grass {Bulbilis (Buchloe) dactyloidts) . — This pasture grass is 
found from the Dakotas to the Rocky mountains and south into Mexico. 
It is a creeping, stoloniferous, turf-forming, perennial grass giving rise to 
more or less curly leaves. The flower-bearing shoots are four inches to a 
foot tall and strictly dioecious. The staminate spikes usually overtop the 
leaves, while the pistillate spikes are shorter than the leaves. The 
staminate spikelets are 2-3 flowered. Pistillate spikelets are i -flowered 
with indurated glumes, trifid at the apex. The lemma is narrow, hyaline 
inclosing the 2-nerved palea. The grain is free within the hardened 
glumes. The seedling plants are monoecious, but the staminate and pistil- 



DESCRIPTION OF IMPORTANT GRASS FORAGE PLANTS 



149 



late branches produce vegetatively male and female plants as offshoots. 
It is a very hardy grass and it seems to be indifferent to drought. On the 
dry plains, it seldom grows over two to four inches tall, but in southern 
Texas, where conditions of heat and moisture are more favorable, it may 
become a foot high. It dry cures and furnishes in the dry state excellent 
winter grazing. 

The following table gives the composition of buffalo grass. 



Percent- 




Water-free Basis (Per cent) 




Material Analyzed i age of 
Moisture 


Ash 


Ether Crude 
Extract Fiber 


Nitro- 
gen-free 
Extract 


Protein 


Pen- 

tasans 


1 
1 

Bellevue, Texas 6.18 

Average of 6 others .... 


10.25 

10. 55 
10.51 


1.23 
2.26 
2. II 


25-74 

25-22 
25.29 


57-08 
54-35 

54-74 


5-70 
7.62 
7-35 


20.56 



Short Grass Vegetation. — A few words as to the growth of these two 
grasses from an agricultural-ecological standpoint. Representing the 
most typical form of the short- grass formation in eastern Colorado, the 
grama-buffalo-grass association presents an appearance of extreme mono- 
tony, according to H. L. Shantz. The plant cover is uniform and carpet- 
like in some places covering the whole surface of the ground in other places 
broken into alternating areas of open ground and dense mat-like cover. 
The amount of soil surface covered varies from as low as 10 per cent, to as 
high as 90 per cent., and the growth is the closest where there is a mixture 
of the two dominant grasses. When grama grass predominates there is 
an open-mat type of vegetation. A variety of other species, annual and 
perennial, are mixed with the grama and buffalo grasses and seasonally 
give some variety to the short-grass formation. 

Short-grass vegetation is an indicator of rather short season favorable 
for growth. Grama grass requires approximately sixty days to mature and 
often fails to ripen its seed, largely because of insufficient water supply. 
Buffalo grass usually flowers and fruits early in the season, but when the 
early season is dry its fruiting may occur at any time during the summer 
when the water supply is sufficient. The principal adaptation of these 
grasses, according to H. L. Shantz, seems in their ability to dry out, as 



150 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

do many lichens and mosses, and to revive quickly when water is again 
supplied. During periods of excessive precipitation, both species of 
grasses grow and fruit luxuriantly. These short grasses have a very 
extensive surface-root system and are especially adapted to conditions 
found in the Great Plains region. After a slight rain, when only the first 
few inches of the soil becomes wet, these plants are able to absorb water 
and grow. Ordinarily grazing does not modify appreciably the short- 
grass cover. It seems to favor the development of the short -grass. 
Grass fires, if repeated, kill out the buffalo grass, but apparently grama 
grass suffers little. Extensive grazing causes the reversion of the short- 
grass stage to an earlier stage in the succession where Gutierrezia sarothrcB 
and Attniisia frigida become dominant. 

The presence of a short-grass cover indicates a growing season that is 
shortened by the limitation of the water supply. Crops which mature 
early are, therefore, more likely to succeed on this type of land than crops 
which require a longer season, such land is not adapted at all to deep- 
rooted crops unless the plants are grown far apart. 

The above descriptions of a number of important agricultural grasses 
does not exhaust the list of native and introduced grasses, which in vari- 
ous parts of our wide domain figure largely in the composition of the vegeta- 
tion of the inclosed meadows of the eastern states and the open wild 
ranges of the western states. A detailed account of all these grasses and 
their life histories would fill a large volume. 

Bibliography 

Ball, Carleton R.: Johnson Grass. Bulletin 11, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. 

Department of Agriculture, 1902. 
Ball, Carleton R.: Saccharine Sorghums for Forage. Farmers' Bulletin 246, U. S. 

Department of Agriculture, 1906. 
Bentley, H. L.: Experiments in Range Improvement in Central Texas. Bulletin 13, 

Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1902. 
BR(nvN, Edgar and Hillm.\n, F. H.: The Seeds of the Blue Grasses. Bulletin 84, 

Bureau of Plant Industry, 1905. 
Carrier, Lyman: Cost of Filling Silos. Farmers' Bulletin 292, U. S. Department of 

Agriculture, 1907; The Grazing Industry of the Bluegrass Region. Bulletin 397, 

U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1916. 
Gates, J. S. and Spillman, W. J.: A Method of Eradicating Johnson Grass. Farmers' 

Bulletin 279, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1907. 
Clements, Frederic E. : Plant Indicators. The Relation of Plant Communities to 



DESCRIPTION OF IMPORTANT GRASS FORAGE PLANTS 151 

Process and Practice. Publication No. 290, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 
388 pages, 92 plates, 1920. 

CORBETT, L. C: The Lawn. Farmers' Bulletin 248, U. S. Department of Agriculture 
1906. 

Cotton, J. S.: Range Management in the State of Washington. Bulletin 75, 1905; 
The Improvement of Mountain Meadows. Bulletin 127, Bureau of Plant Industry, 
U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1908. 

D.WY, Joseph Burtt: Stock Ranges of Northwestern CaUfornia. Notes on the 
Grasses and Forage Plants and Range Conditions. Bulletin 12, Bureau of Plant 
Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1902. 

DiLLMAN, Arthur C: Breeding Drought-resistant Forage Plants for the Great Plains 
Area. Bulletin 196, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 
1910. 

Denton, A. A.: Sorghum Sirup Manufacture. Farmers' Bulletin 35, 1901. 

Ev.\NS, Morgan W.: Timothy. Farmers' Bulletin 990, U. S. Department of Agri- 
culture, 1918. 

Gardner, Frank D. and Collabor.-^tors: Successful Farming. The John C. Winston 
Company, Philadelphia, 1916. 

Griffiths, David: Range Improvement in Arizona. Bulletin 4, 1901; Forage Condi- 
tions on the Northern Border of the Great Basin. Bulletin 15, 1902; Forage 
Conditions and Problems in Eastern Washington, Eastern Oregon, Northwestern 
California, and Northwestern Nevada. Bulletin 38, 1903; Range Investigations 
in Arizona. Bulletin 67, 1904; The Reseeding of Depleted Ranges and Native 
Pastures. Bulletin 117, 1907; A Protected Stock Range in Arizona. Bulletin 
177, 1910, Bureau of Plant Industr}', U. S. Department of Agriculture. 

Griffiths, David, Bidwell, George L. and Goodrich, Charles E.: Native Pasture 
Grasses of the United States. Bulletin 201, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1915. 

Hansen, Albert A.: Eradication of Bermuda Grass. Farmers' Bulletin 945, U. S. 
Department of Agriculture, 191 8. 

HiLLMAN, F. H.: Distinguishing Characters of the Seeds of Sudan Grass and Johnson 
Grass. Bulletin 406, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1916. 

Hitchcock, A. S.: Cultivated Forage Crops of the Northwestern States. Bulletin 31, 
1902, Bureau of Plant Industry. 

Hunt, Thomas F. : The Forage and Fiber Crops in America. Orange Judd Company, 
New York, 191 2. 

Hunter, Byron: Pasture and Grain Crops for Hogs in the Pacific Northwest. Bull- 
etin 68, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1914; Farm Practice with Forage Crops 
in Western Oregon and Western Washington. Bulletin 94, Bureau of Plant 
Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1906. 

Jardine, James T. : Range Management on the National Forests. Bulletin 790, U. S. 
Department of Agriculture, 191 9. 

Jones, L. R.: Vermont Grasses and Clovers. Bulletin 94, Vermont Agricultural Ex- 
periment Station, May, 1902. 

Lyon, T. H. and HitchcoCk, A. S.: Pasture, Meadow and Forage Crops in Nebraska. 
Bulletin 59, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1904. 



152 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

Lamson-Scribner, F.: Our Native Pasture Plants. Yearbook of the Department of 
Agriculture, 1900, 581-598; Southern Forage Plants. I-'armers' Bulletin 102, 
U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1899. 

McClure, Harry B.: Market Hay. Fa'rniers' Bulletin 508, U. S. Department of 
Agriculture, 191 2; Haymaking. Farmers' Bulletin 943, 1918; Hay Stackers. 
Farmers' Bulletin 1009, 1019; Baling Hay, Farmers' Bulletin 1049, 1919. 

Oakley, R. A.: Canada Blue Grass, Its Culture and Uses. P'armers' Bulletin, 402, 
U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1910. 

PiETERS, A. J. and Brown, Edgar: Kentucky Bluegrass Seed Bulletin 19, Bureau 
of Plant Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1902. 

Piper, C. V.: Grass Lands of the South Alaska Coast. Bulletin 82, Bureau of Plant 
Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1905. 

Piper, C. V. and Hillman, J. H.: The Agricultural Species of Bent Grasses. Bulletin 
692, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1918. 

Piper, C. V. and Oakley, R. A.: Turf for Golf Courses. New York, The Macmillan 
Company, 191 7, pages 262. 

Sampson, Arthur W.: Range Improvement by Deferred and Rotation Grazing. 
Bulletin 34, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1913; Important Range Plants, 
their Life History and Forage Value. Bulletin 545, U. S. Department of Agri- 
culture, 1917; Plant Succession in Relation to Range Management. Bulletin 
791, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1919. 

Shantz, H. L.: Natural Vegetation as an Indicator of the Capabilities of Land for Crop 
Production in the Great Plains Area. Bulletin 201, Bureau of Plant Industry, 
U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1911. 

Tracy, S. M.: Some Important Grasses and Forage Plants for the Gulf Coast Region. 
Farmers' Bulletin 300, U. ^. Department of Agriculture, 1907; Forage Crops for 
the Cotton Region. Farmers' Bulletin 509, 191 2; Bermuda Grass. Farmers' 
Bulletin 814, 1917. 

Vinall, H. N.: Meadow Fescue, its Culture and Uses. Farmers' Bulletin 361. U. S. 
Department of Agriculture, 1909; Foxtail Millet, its Culture and Utilization in 
the United States. Farmers' Bulletin 793, 191 7. 

Williams, Thomas A.: Timothy in the Prairie Region. Yearbook of the U. S. De- 
partment of Agriculture, 1896, 147-154; Sorghum as a Forage Crop. Farmers' 
Bulletin 50, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1897. 

WlXTE, Hernfrid: Breeding Timothy at Svalof. Journal of Heredity, x: 291-299, 
October, 1919. 

Woodward, T. E. and Others: The Making and Feeding of Silage. Farmers' Bulletin 
556, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1913. 

WooTON, E. O.: Factors Affecting Range Management in New Mexico. Bulletin 211, 
' U. S. Department of Agriculture, 191 5. 

Yerkes, Arnold P. and McClure, H. B.: Harvesting Hay with the Sweep-rake. 
Farmers' Bulletin 838, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 191 7. 

Yoder, p. a.: Growing Sugar Cane for Sirup. Farmers' Bulletin 1034, U. S. De- 
partment of Agriculture, 19 19. 



DESCRIPTION OF IMPORTANT GRASS FORAGE PLANTS 1 53 

Laboratory Work 

Suggestions to Teachers. — As previously emphasized, the 'teacher should provide 
the material for laboratory work and demonstration some time in advance. The 
material for study should consist of fresh dried and alcoholic specimens. If the ground 
around the laboratory permits, a grass garden should be started, where at least all 
of the more important grasses used in the class work should be grown in plots. Al- 
though most of this fresh material can be used only during the growing season, some of it, 
especially the underground parts, can be secured if the ground is not frozen too hard 
during the winter months. The alcoholic and dried specimens should represent 
either whole or parts of the plants. Fruits of all the species studied should also be on 
hand for examination. Photographs and illustrations of other kinds, wall charts and 
maps of distribution will prove useful. Moving pictures of agricultural operations,' 
such as seed sowing, mowing, haying operations, etc., will prove of great value, if the 
laboratory is equipped with all of these modern pieces of apparatus. As many of the 
above mentioned grasses are cultivated in all civilized countries or have escaped from 
cultivation the teacher, wherever he or she may be located, need not suffer for lack of 
material. 

Laboratory Exercises 

1. Describe and draw the specimens of grasses handed to you for study. The 
examination of the grass flower can only be accomplished successfully by the use of a 
hand lens, or a dissecting microscope. The equipment of the laboratory presupposes 
that each student has access to such a microscope. The dried grasses for study can be 
mounted by the teacher on stiff card boards covered with thin sheets of gelatin, or what 
is better the specimens themselves can be presented to the students for preservation. 

2. Each student will have assigned a single grass species to study in the field, as 
it grows, and with reference to the literature dealing with this plant species. This 
will necessitate reference to the books, cyclopedias, bulletins and other sources of in- 
formation available m the library of the institution, or if the laboratory is in a large 
city, the libraries of the scientific institutions which may be located there. A written 
report should be handed to the teacher as a result of each investigation. This is a 
piece of home work which should be a part of every course in botany, as it indicates 
to the students the sources of the information about the plants with which the class 
deals. It also indicates how knowledge is acquired about books and the objects of 
nature. It trains the student for future investigation and conduces to originality. 

3. A comparative study of the grain fruits, or caryopses of the different grasses 
should be a part of the laboratory training. The writer has used a set of six paste- 
board cards perforated with round holes an inch in diameter. These cards are backed 
with a stiff piece of gray pasteboard. The students are given the different agricultural 
seed grass caryopses, leguminous, weed and poisonous seeds to the number of forty- 
eight. These are filled into the circular holes made as above described. The eight holes 
each with a different seed are then covered by a single piece of glass usually the size of 
lantern slide covers. The glass is then bound to the two separate pieces of card- 
board by passe-partout tape usually black in color. The six sets of eight seeds each 



154 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

are then kept in a pasteboard box with a front which can drop down and a lid hinged 
to the back of the box. Such sets have been mounted for a number of years by students 
at the University of Pennsylvania, but the writer has given up this method in 
favor of the distribution of 48 aluminium-capped vials in which the agricultural seeds 
will be kept. Tape labels, such as are used for attachment to envelopes with the re- 
turn address will be printed with the scientific and common name of each poisonous, 
grass, leguminous and weed seed. These can be readily pasted on the vials, when the 
seeds are distributed to the class. The vials will be kept in four paper trays with twelve 
compartments each made to accurately accommodate the v'ials. The box in which the 
trays fit will have a front side, which will drop down, and a hinged lid provided on the 
outside with a neatly printed label describing the contents of the box. Such a box 
with vials should not cost each student over three dollars, if bought in quantity at 
present prices prevailing (1920)./ With these sets of seeds, it will be possible for the 
class to make a comparative study of the most important agricultural seeds. With the 
set of 48 seeds, now used at the University of Pennsylvania, the students, as a part of 
the practical work required of them in their final examination in botany, are required 
to identify on request any five or ten seeds of the set of forty-eight. During the in- 
structional period, drawings of each of the forty-eight seeds should be made with the 
aid of hand lenses. 

4. The most important grass fruits should be studied in sections after the external 
study has been completed by the application of iodine solution. This will enable 
the student to differentiate thp embryo and the reserve food in a more perfect way. 
Microscopic sections can be made, but time will hardly be found for a detailed study of 
them. 

^ The author has adopted the expedient of dividing the cost between the school and 
the students. The school pays one-half and the students (with their consent) the other 
half deducted to save embarassment from the students' deposited laboratory fees. The 
boxes were made for the author by the Jesse Jones Paper Box Co., 615 Commerce 
Street, Philadelphia. The vials (No. 21) with screw tops (aluminium) were furnished 
by Whitall Tatum Co., Glass Manufacturers, 410 Race Street, Philadelphia and the 
gummed labels by the Dennison Manufacturing Co., 1007 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. 
The box labels were printed by a local printer. 



CHAPTER 13 
THE MOST IMPORTANT CEREALS 

The grasses, which are grown for their grains, are known as cereals. 
These grasses gathered at first by uncivilized men for their grain fruits 
slowly came into cultivation, as men left the hunting and pastoral stages 
and became agriculturists. The ancient inhabitants of China, Babylonia, 
Egypt, North and South America at an early date cultivated the 
cereals. The most important ceireals in the United States in the order 
of their production are Maize (Indian corn), Oats, Wheat, Barley, Rye, 
Rice, Buckwheat. The average production of them in the United States 
for the period 1911-13 was in bushels as follows: 

Maize (Corn) 2,701,074,000 bushels. 

Oats 1,154,134,300 bushels. 

Wheat 704,995,000 bushels. 

Barley 187,417,700 bushels. 

Rye 56,721,000 bushels. 

Rice 11,808,700 bushels. 

The above cereals will be treated of in the order of their production in the 

United States. 

Maize, Indian Corn, Corn {Zea mays) . 

Origin. — Maize is undoubtedly a native of America and the evidence 
points to Mexico as the original home of the wild species. It was culti- 
vated from ancient times among the agricultural tribes of North and South 
America. The wild form is not known definitely, but teosinte. Euchl- 
laena mexicana, is the nearest known wild relative of maize and the two 
plants readily hybridize. Montgomery, Collins, Weatherwax, and the 
writer have proposed various theories, as to the origin of maize in its 
cultivated forms, but the theoretical discussion of this interesting matter 
will, not be solved finally until either a wild progenitor of maize is dis- 
covered by some fortunate botanist, or the cultivated maize (cultigen) 
is produced synthetically from maize and teosinte combined, as some 
botanists think that the cultivated plant is of hybrid origin, or from teo- 
sinte alone. 



156 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



Description. — Maize is a summer annual and is dependent upon man 
for its reproduction, not sowing itself from seed, as a wild plant (Fig. 65). 
Its root system is fibrous, but in addition there are aerially developed prop 
roots which soon become fixed in the soil. The stem of corn is solid with 
the closed, collateral sap-bundles scattered in a cross-sectional view. Fre- 
quently corn produces suckers which correspond with the stools of wheat. 
Suckers of corn are undesirable, as they are heavy soil feeders and reduce 
the yield through nonproduction of ears. The leaves are two ranked 
with large, broad blades at the base of which is a conspicuous membran- 




FiG. 65. — Field of maize at Sea Girt, N. J., August 23. 1919- 

ous ligule, or rain-guard. Corn is monoecious. The pistillate flowers 
are borne in a spike, or ear, surrounded by the bases of transformed leaves, 
or husks. The male flowers are produced in a terminal tassel. The 
pistillate spikelets are arranged in rows along a fleshy axis, or cob. Each 
normal pistillate spikelet has two flowers, the lower (outer) one of which is 
abortive, but this floret is represented by the persistent lemma and palea 
(Fig. 66). The spikelet is subtended by two glumes that are shorter 
than the ovary, very broad and fleshy at the base, thin membranous above 
and fringed on the edges. The lemma and palea of the fertile flower are 
short, broad and membranous. The single ovary bears a long style, or 



THE MOST IMPORTANT CEREALS 



157 



thread of silk. The tassel, or panicle of staminate spikelets is terminal 
in maize. Each normal staminate spikelet is two-flowered, each flower 



JM ^lume 




palef of 
Jertile' 
' jlower 

lemma of 

ferhle ' 

power 

■^nd ^lume 

Fig. 66. — Pistillate spikelet of corn, much enlarged. (Robbins after Nees.j 

having three perfect stamens subtended by lemmas and palets. Glumes 
subtend each staminate spikelet (Fig. 67). 





Pig. 67. — Details of maize (Zea mays canina) i. Male inflorescence; 2. Two male 
spikelets; 3. Dissection of spikelet with two male flowers (below a pollen grain); 4. Plan 
of male spikelet; 5. Vertical section of maize kernel; 6. Germination of maize caryopsis. 
(After Harshberger, John W.: Maize: A Botanical and Economic Study . Coitributions 
from the Botanical Laboratory, University of Pennsylvania I, No. 2, Part of Plate II. 1893.) 

Grain. — The mature grain of corn is flattened with an external 
shallow groove which indicates the position of the embryo, and at the 
blunt end a small scar where the style was attached. Cutting the kernel 



i5« 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



open, we find the embryo at one side with the rest of the interior filled 
with starchy, or horny reserve food. Increase the starchy reserve food and 
you increase the carbohydrate content of the grain. Increase the horny 




Fig. 68. — Structure and germination of maize kernel, A, longitudinal section of 
maize grain showing position of embryo and reserve food; B, top or flat side of kernel; 
C, longitudinal section in early stages of germination; D, early stage of germination, 
same view as in B; £, later stage of germination when maize has become independent. 
a, outer coat of fruit; b, scutellum; c, root ['sheath or coleorrhiza; d, radicle; e, cotyledon; 
/, plumule; g, homy reserve food; h, starchy reserve food; m, secondary roots. 

reserve food and the protein contents are increased. A large embryo, 
or germ, indicates a kernel rich in oil (Fig. 67). In the germination of the 
corn grain, the optimum temperature is 9i°F. a maximum of ii4.8°F. and 
a mininum of 4i°F. The primary root first projects then bursts through 



THE MOST IMPORTANT CEREALS 



159 



the coleorhiza and later the secondary roots appear about the time that 
the plumule grows upward (Fig. 68). Collins describes some pueblo corn 




o c , -2 PI 
w +3 .2 CQ o 

I s ^ I .« 

I. cS a 5 8 
. ^ t/) *; ^ 

.±5^4.5 0, 






which is planted very deep in the soil at least a foot, or eighteen inches. 
Corn with such a habit can reach the water in the deeper soil levels and is 
adapted to an arid climate. 



l60 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

Soils. — The best corn soils are well drained, deep, warm, black loams, 
with a high per cent, of organic matter and available nitrogen. Varieties 
are known which mature in 80 days, where the summer temperature is 
over 65°. Even these requirements nowhere permit it to mature beyond 
So°N. though it is grown for fodder in southern England and in Quebec. 
At least 20 inches of rainfall seem necessary for the best growth of the 
corn plant. 

Maize is the principal food supply of the American people. The orig- 
inal distribution of the plant is shown in the map (Fig. 69). Outside of 
the south very little corn is consumed as a human food for most of the corn 
is fed to cattle or hogs and consumed as meat. The maize grown in the 
South is practically all of it consumed at home, being turned into hog flesh, 
hoecake and hominy. While corn meal hominy and similar products 
are the principal corn foods, there are a number of others such as the un- 
ripe ears, especially of sweet varieties and pop corn which are used as 
favorite American foods. Starch, glucose, gluten, oil and corn flakes are 
also made from corn. 

Cultivation. — ^Maize is of the utmost importance from ah agricultural 
viewpoint and it has been studied as no other cereal in America with re- 
gard to methods of cultivation, improvement of varieties, composition, 
position in the rotation and as a food for man and the domestic animals. 
The important food materials found in corn and its products are: (i) 
Protein, or nitrogenous, flesh-forming material; (2) Fat; (3) Carbohydrates, 
or heat-producing elements, such as, starches, sugars, cellulose, or crude 
fiber; (4) Mineral matter and ash. The food value of the grain of maize 
lies in its high net available energy due to the presence of carbohydrates 
and fats. The plant whether green, ensiled, or dry is a good food for horses 
and ruminants, the dry matter being more digestible than that of clover 
hay, or timothy hay. When properly prepared the food value of the dry 
matter is rather less, and when the grain is added, rather more than that 
of timothy hay. The digestible nutrients in the grain and clover are about 
as two to one. The nutrient ratio of maize is 1 7.5 and its nutritive value 
is 87. This ratio indicates that maize is poor in protein substances at the 
best. This rather unfits it for a standard article of food, unless combined 
with other substances richer in protein. 

Sowing. — The North American Indians believed that the time to plant 
corn had arrived when the young leaves of the white oak in the spring 
had reached the size of squirrel ears. This period is reached in Pennsyl- 



THE MOST IMPORTANT CEREALS 



l6l 



vania about the first week of May, and in the Gulf states about the 
middle of February to the beginning of March. The Indian method of 
planting maize was to put four grains in a hill four feet each way and they 
taught this method to the white settlers. The usual method in the North 
Atlantic states is to plant in drills; in the North Central states the practice 
is divided, but the larger part is planted in hills, while in the South, it 
is usually planted in hills in the lowlands while in hill country maize is 
drilled, so that all cultivation may be at right angles to the slope of the hill 
which method prevents washing. The cultivation of maize during its 
early development prevents the growth of weeds and stirs the soil. The 
destruction of weeds is a most important matter as they compete seriously 




Fig. 70. — Three-horse corn-stalk cutter which cuts two rows. (After Hartley, C. P.: 
Harvesting and Storing Corn. Farmers' Bulletin 313, 1907, p. 27.) 

with the corn plants. Deep cultivation should be practiced early in the 
season in order to conserve the soil moisture. Shallow cultivation should 
be pursued late in the season, as it saves the feeding corn roots. The 
frequency of cultivation will depend chiefly on the surface condition of 
the soil and the presence of weeds. Improved machinery is used for the 
cutting of the corn crop (Fig. 70). 

Rotation. — Most farmers in Indiana maintain a general rotation of 
corn one year, wheat or oats one year, and hay or pasture one or two years. 
Some timothy is grown, but most of the hay is clover. In Mercer County, 
New Jersey, south of Trenton, the rotation is corn one year, potatoes one 
year, rye or wheat one year and hay one or two years. About 35 per 
cent, of the farmers grow crimson clover and rye, or vetch, as cover crops 
11 



l62 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

after corn. In portions of Ohio there is a three-year rotation of corn, 
wheat and clover. The following five year rotation has been found suc- 
cessful: Clover, timothy, corn, oats, wheat. In the south, there are 
3 Cs, viz., corn, cowpeas, cotton. 

The larger part of the crop of corn is still husked by hand from the 
standing plant, which is then cut and put into shocks, or into the silo. 
In the silo by process of fermentation, it is converted into silage. After 
being husked, the ears of maize are placed in cribs which are open-slatted 
storehouses permitting the circulation of the air. Some of the finer ears 
are laid aside as seed corn. 

Oats (Avena saliva, A. oritntalis and A. nuda). — There are three species 
of oats in common cultivation in the United States (Fig. 71, ^ and B). 
They are the panicle oats {Avena saliva), banner oats {A. orienlalis) and 
naked oats {A. nuda). Several botanists believe that these three cultigens 
have originated from the wild oats {Avena falua) . There are other cul- 
tivated oats but they are of minor importance. 

Description. — The roots of oats extend to a depth of four or five feet. 
The stems of the plant are larger in diameter and softer than wheat and 
bear leaves abundantly. The leaves have a closed leaf sheath and the 
ligule is short and toothed. The spikelets of the oats are arranged in 
open panicles with a one-sided panicle in banner oats. The spreading oats, 
Avena saliva, has a panicle with its branches spreading in all directions. 
An oat spikelet has two to five flowers with two unequal glumes at the 
base of the spikelet. The lemma is rounded on the back and with a dor- 
sal awn. The palea is two-toothed and shorter than the lemma fitting 
closely about the grain. .Each floret has three stamens. The blooming 
of the flowers in an entire spikelet is completed in about a week with the 
lower floret developing first and the others in ascending order. The 
flowering period is from 2 to 4 p.m. Self-pollination is the rule, although 
cross pollination is not impossible. The elongated hairy oat kernel is 
firmly surrounded by the lemma and the palet which together form the 
hull. The starchy endosperm of oats, unlike that of wheat, has no gluten 
and hence it cannot be made into a light head. 

Cool summers favor the ripening of the grain of oats, and hence, the 
plant is better adapted to high altitudes and latitudes. The plant re- 
quires more water than the other common cereals, and hence, the crop is 
generally grown in the spring. The plant is more independent of the 
character of the soil than any other cereal. 



THE MOST IMPORTANT CEREALS 



163 




Fig. 71. — Heads of oats grown at the Moro substation: A. Sweedish select, a banner 
oats, Avena orienialis and B, Kherson, a panicle oats, Avena saliva. {After Stephens, 
David E.: Experiments with Spring Cereals at the Eastern Oregon Dry Farming Substation 
Moro, Oregon. Bull. 498, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1917, p. 28.) 



;64 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

Large quantities of oats are used every year in the form of oatmeal 
and rolled oats. The grain is extensively used as a feed for horses, and 
occasionally, it is fed to poultry. The oat plant may be grown for pasture, 
for hay, or as a nurse crop. Oat straw is a valuable food for cattle and 
sheep. The United States leads all other countries in the production of 
oats with Russia a close second. 

Quality. — The quality of oats depends principally upon the proportion 
of hull to kernels. American varieties, as a rule, have on an average about 
thirty per cent, of hull and seventy per cent, of kernel, and as these per- 
centages vary the composition of the grain varies also, Oats differ 
from maize in having a larger per cent, of crude fiber at the expense of the 
starch. The kernel is richer in fat and protein than any of the other cereals. 
Oat straw has a higher percentage of protein and a lower percentage of 
crude fiber than rye, or wheat straw. 

Rotations. — Oats generally follow maize in rotations. The following 
is recommended by Hunt. For winter wheat sections, maize, one year; 
oats, one year; winter wheat, one year; timothy and common red clover, 
one or two years. For sections specially adapted to maize and not to 
wheat, maize, two years; oats, one year; timothy and clover, one to three 
years, depending upon the live stock kept. For southern states: maize 
and cowpeas, one year; oats followed by cowpeas harvested for hay, one 
year; cotton, one or two years. In the first year of this rotation, the 
cowpeas grown between the rows of maize may be harvested for grain. 

Cultivation and Yield. — It is not as necessary to prepare a deep seed 
bed for oats as for wheat, maize, etc. The oats are sown broadcast and 
covered with a disk harrow. Oats are sown in the northern states, as soon 
as possible in the spring and in the southern states, the winter varieties 
are sowed between October ist and November 15th, while the spring 
sowing takes place there from January to March. The average yield per 
annum per acre .of oats during the decade 1893-1902 was 27.8 bushels. 
Sixty to seventy-five bushels is considered a good yield, while in Canada 
100 bushels have been produced to the acre. The center of oat cultiva- 
tion in the United States is in Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. This shows a 
northward movement over the year 1850, when New York, Pennsyl- 
vania and Ohio were the principal oat-producing states. 

Wheat (Tritictim, several species). — As with all cultivated plants, 
which have been associated with the agricultural operations of man from 
very early days, there has been a discussion as to the origin of wheat. Re- 



THE MOST IMPORTANT CEREALS 1 65 

cently Aaron Aaronsohn of the Agricultural Experiment Station in Pales- 
tine has discovered on Mount Hermon a wild wheat which has been 
named Triticum hermonis by O. F. Cook of the United States Department 
of Agriculture, who has studied in detail this interesting plant. What 
the relationship of this wild wheat is to the diverse types of cultivated 
wheats, it is too early to state, but this can be said, that it is doubtful 
whether all the cultivated types of wheat arose from a single wild species 
or from several wild species, more probably the latter is the true explana- 
tion. 'Kie cultivated wheats may be divided into two groups, as follows: 

1. Naked wheats in which the grain comes free from the lemma and 
palet, and the rachis is tenacious. This group includes the durum wheat 
{T. durum), the Poulard wheat {T. turgidum), the club wheat {T. com- 
pactum), the common bread wheat {T. (Estivum) and the Polish wheat 
{T. polonicum) . 

2. Spelt wheats, in which the grain remains attached to the lemma and 
palet and the rachis is fragile. This group includes the einkorn {T. 
monococcum) , the emmer {T. dicoccum) and the spelt {T. spelta). The 
wheats of this group are nearest to the primitive condition, for it is gen- 
erally agreed that the progenitor, or progenitors, of the cultivated forms 
had a fragile rachis, and this is borne out by the fact that the wheats culti- 
vated in ancient times had fragile rachises, such as emmer, and by the 
fact that the wild species from Syria also agrees in this peculiarity. The 
Triticum hermonis is the T. dicoccum dicoccoides, a wild emmer, and this 
wild emmer is considered by Chodat to be the primitive form and he 
concludes that wheat is indigenous to Syria. 

Description. — Wheat is an annual plant with fibrous roots and usually 
six-jointed stems, the upper or last internode being the spike-bearing one. 
The leaf of wheat is of the usual grass type with a split sheath and thin 
transparent ligule. The spikelets are arranged in a spike with an average 
of 15-20 fertile spikelets in a head (Fig. 72). The number of flowers in a 
spikelet varies from two to five. Each spikelet has two broad glumes at 
the base. The lemmas are awned, or beardless, that is awnless. There 
are three stamens and an ovary with two feathery styles.. Two lodicules 
are present. In northern cold, or wet climates, close polHnation is the 
rule with wheat, but in durum wheats cross pollination is habitual, and 
this seems to be the case with primitive wheats and those grown in hot, 
dry localities. The mature grain has a tuft of hairs, the brush, at the 
small (stigmatic) end of the kernel, and at the opposite end is found the 



1 66 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



embryq. A groove, or furrow, is found along the side of the grain facing 
the palet. In cross section, the following cell layers are distinguishable 
(i) ovary wall, or pericarp, several cells thick; (2) testa, two layers of 
cells; (3) tegmen; (4) aleurone layer often ca,lled the gluten layer; (5) 
starchy endosperm; (6) embryo. The bran layer includes the three outer 
layers viz., pericarp, testa and tegmen. The latter is represented by a 




Fig. 72. — Heads of varieties of spring wheat grown at the Moro substation: A, 
Little Club; B, Pacific Bluestem; C, Karun. {After Stephens, David E.: Experiments 
with Spring Cereals at the Eastern Oregon Dry-Farming Substation, Moro, Oregon. Bull. 
498, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1917, p. 19.) 

single layer of j:ells outside of the aleurone layer. In the undeveloped 
embryo, this tissue was large and prominent. The protein in the wheat 
varies from 8.1 per cent, to 17.2 per cent, with an average of 11.9 per cent, 
and there appear to be five kinds of wheat proteins: globulin, albumin, 
proteose, gliadin and glutenin, according to the researches of Osborne" 
and Vorrhees. There are two kinds of wheal, hard and soft. The hard 



THE MOST IMPORTANT CEREALS 1 67 

wheats have a horny character and are rich in protein. Such are the hard 
spring wheat (Fife and Bluestem), the hard winter wheat (Turkey and 
Krastov) and the durum wheat (Kubanka). Out of the durum wheats 
are manufactured macaroni, spaghetti and vermicelli. 

Adaptation. — Wheat is best adapted to growth in moderately dry 
temperate climates. It is not grown in regions with a growing season less 
than ninety days, nor in regions having less than nine inches of annual 
rainfall. Wheat is grown on a wider range of soils, but the famous wheat 
soils of the world are of high fertility and of fine texture, such as silts, 
silt loams and clay loams,, usually rich in humus. Black soils rich in 
nitrogen generally produce wheat with a higher gluten content, as those 
of the cherzonem of Russia, and the northwestern prairie soils of Canada 
and the United States. There are many varieties of wheat, some being 
winter annuals, sown in the fall and harvested in early summer, while 
others are sown in the spring and harvested usually ten to twenty days 
later than the winter varieties. The United States produces slightly less 
than one-fifth of the world's wheat and about one-half of the whole crop of 
the United States is produced in the North Central states west of the 
Mississippi River. 

Rotation. — Rotations are best, although not always profitable, because 
continuous cropping with wheat reduces soil fertility. In winter wheat 
sections, wheat may follow corn, oats, potatoes or tobacco. Wheat 
requires a firm, fine and moist, seed-bed whether it be sown in the fall, or 
the spring. When wheat follows corn, potatoes, or tobacco, the ground 
should be plowed thoroughly for these crops in the spring of the year and 
the crops grown should receive thorough and regular cultivation, as 
long as possible. After the crop is harvested, double disking should put 
the ground in an ideal condition for the sowing of wheat. When winter 
wheat follows oats, the stubble should be plowed, as early, as possible. 
The results of Utah, North Dakota and Minnesota in plowing in fall and 
spring for spring wheat are only slightly in favor of the fall plowing, so 
far, as yield is concerned, but early fall plowing is generally advocated by 
these stations in the interest of weed and insect destruction, and more 
economical farm management. Spring plowing has given better results in 
Manitoba than fall plowing, while summer fallowing has given better 
results than either. The five course rotation of maize, oats, and wheat, 
each one year, and timothy and clover two years, is considered standard in 
many sections. The winter killing of winter wheat is often a source of 
great loss in the United States. 



1 68 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

Cultivation and Yield. — The rate of seeding varies greatly in different 
wheat districts of the United States. East of the Mississippi River, two 
bushels of well-cleaned seed will give the best results. In the dry farming 
regions of the West, three pecks in the driest sections and six to eight 
pecks in the more humid sections are used. Wheat is usually harvested, 
when fully ripe. The straw should be yellow in color and the grain in 
hard dough, while on the Pacific Coast, it is allowed to stand a week, or 
two, after it is ripe and is then gathered with a combined harvester and 
thresher. Wheat should be shocked the same day it is cut. This pre- 
vents rapid drying and aids the more complete storage of starch in the 
grain from the plastic materials found in stem and leaves. The experi- 
ence of last summer (iqiq) indicates that wheat should be hauled into 
the barn, as soon as possible, as a wet spell may completely destroy the 
crop by the sprouting of the wheat grains, while in shock. Threshing 
may then be done at a convenient time, the sooner the better, and the 
threshed grain should be stored in tight, clean granaries. The average 
yield of wheat in France is 20 bushels per acre. The yield of wheat in 
the United States in 1909, nineteen bushels per acre, was greatest in the 
regions receiving 30 to 35 inches of precipitation during that crop year. 
This yield of nineteen bushels per acre seems too low an average for a 
progressive agricultural country like the United States. The yield might 
be increased by giving up slip shod methods of cultivation and by growing 
improved varieties. 

Barley {Hordeum vulgare). — Botanists recognize at least two species 
of barley with a number of varieties of each species. The two species are 
known to science as the six-rowed barley {Hordeum vulgare), and the two- 
rowed barley {Hordeum distichon). Koernicke believes that the proto- 
type of the cultivated barleys is Hordeum spontaneum, a type nearly re- 
lated to the nutans form of two-rowed barley. Rimpau considers the 
six-rowed bearded barley as the progenitor of all the types. 

Winter barleys are susceptible to winter cold, even more than winter 
rye, or winter wheat, hence in the northern United States practically all 
the barley is sown in the spring. As a spring grown crop, it is cultivated 
in Alaska, as far north, as 65°N. latitude and up to an altitude of 7,500 
feet in the Rocky mountains. At higher elevations, it is grown for hay 
in a variety known as "bald barley. " 

Description. — The barley plant is a summer, or a winter annual. 
The roots resemble those of the oat, and from the root system arise 



THE MOST IMPORTANT CEREALS 169 

stems with five to seven joints occasionally an eighth. The inflorescence 
is a spike of spikelets with a strongly compressed rachis. The horizontal 
cushion, where the spikelets articulate, distinguishes barley from wheat 
and rye. There are three spikelets at each joint of the rachis. The 
lateral spikelets of each group of three are sometimes imperfect with the 
short branch, or rachilla, prolonged beyond the central spikeletas a bristle, 
but accommodated within the groove of the grain. Each spikelet is one- 
flowered. The glumes are narrow and awn-like forming an involucre- 
like enclosure of the spikelets. The lemma is broad and bears a long 
barbed awn. The palea is about, as long, as the lemma and has two ridges, 
The styles are short and the two lodicules are prominent. Self-pollina- 
tion is the rule in the barleys, but occasional cross pollination occurs in 
the four-rowed and two-rowed nodding barleys. The mature kernel may 
be covered in the hulled barleys by the palet and lemma. These scales 
come loose in the naked barleys. 

Barley is used principally in the preparation of malt in the brewing 
industries. Smaller quantities are ground and made into bread, while 
pearl barley is used in soups. Barley is a valuable feed for dairy cows, 
sheep, hogs and poultry. 

Cultivation. — Barley should be sown, as soon, as danger from severe 
frosts are over, and the soil is sufficiently warm and dry to make a good 
seed bed. This date varies in the northern states from April i to May 15. 
In the humid regions, seeding is at the rate of 8 pecks to the acre and in 
drills six to eight inches apart. This method insures an even distribution 
of the seed. Barley, in seasons of drought is benefited by cultivation 
with a spike-toothed harrow, or weeder. In the Rocky Mountain states, 
considerable barley is grown under irrigation. 

Barley ripens in the southern states from May i to June i and in the 
northern states during July and August. Care must be exercised to 
harvest barley at the right time, neither too early nor too late. A good 
index is the hardness of the grain which should just be dented with the 
finger nail. The crop is usually harvested with the binder, and if weather 
permits, the bundles should dry before being placed together in the shocks, 
which should be capped to protect the grain from heavy rains. 

For small farms threshing from the stack is better than from the shock, 
as a better quality of grain is obtained. Care should be used in threshing 
as many grains will be cracked, if the concaves of the machine are set too 
close. After threshing, the grain should be carefully housed in dry bins. 



1 yo PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

The average yield of barley in the United States for the ten year period, 
I goo to 1909, was 25.7 bushels per acre. 

Rotations. — Great care should be exercised in the rotation of barley 
with other crops. Where barley replaces wheat in the rotation, the se- 
quence of crops may be maize, barley and oats, each one year, or timothy 
and clover, one or more years. The land has thus had surface tillage 
the previous year and may have been manured. In some regions, 
barley replaces oats, when the rotation becomes maize, barley and wheat, 
each one year, followed with clover, or clover and timothy, one or two years. 

Rye {Secale cereale). — The wild progenitor of the cultivated species is 
looked upon by botanists as S. anatolicum, one of the subspecies of S. 
montanum, which extends from Spain and Morocco to central Asia. The 
wild species is a perennial, but the cultivated form is an annual. The root 
system is a whorl of four primary roots, which extend into the soil to a 
depth of four to five feet. The stems of rye with five to six, rarely four- 
to seven-jointed are tougher, slenderer and larger than those of barley, 
oats and wheat. The rye inflorescence is a spike of spikelets. Each 
spikelet consists of three flowers, with the two lateral flowers perfect and 
maturing grains, while the middle floret is abortive. The glumes are 
narrow. The lemma is broad-keeled and bears a long terminal awn. 
The palet is thin, blunt and two-keeled. The lodicules are small and 
membranous. Three stamens are present in each perfect flower and a 
single pistil with two feathery styles. Rye is commonly cross-fertilized 
and in this respect is like maize, but unlike wheat, oats and barley. The 
mature grain is free from the lemma and palet. It is long, narrow and 
usually darker in color than wheat. 

The structure of the rye caryopsis is like that of wheat, with somewhat 
similar layers of cell. Rye protein usually forms 6 to 12 per cent, of the 
grain. Gluten is present in the protein, hence, rye can be made mto 
porous bread. 

Rye is adapted to a colder, drier climate than wheat. It does well on 
poor, and sandy soils. Rye is fed to stock mixed with barley, maize, or 
oats. 1 he straw is used for stable bedding, as a stuffing, and in the manu- 
facture of paper, hats and other articles of straw. 

Cultivation. — Spring rye is sometimes grown in the northern states, 
but it should give way to winter rye, where that grain crop will survive. 
About 96 per cent, of the world's rye is produced and consumed in Europe 
where in Such states, as Germany, Holland, Russia, Belgium, Austria and 



THE MOST IMPORTANT CEREALS 171 

Hungary, it is of great importance. It is grown farther north than the 
other cereals. In the United States, rye is grown mostly in regions having 
a cool climate and sandy soils. About two-thirds of the rye grain pro- 
duced in the United States is used as a cattle food and the other third 
formerly in the production of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. 

Notwithstanding the fact, that rye will grow on poor soils, the crop 
responds to good soils and the application of fertilizers. When intended 
for a grain crop, it should be sown about September i in the northern 
states and in the latter half of November in the southern states. If 
used as a cover, pasture, or green manure crop, it should be planted two 
weeks to a month earlier than if grown for the grain. It should in all 
cases become well established before winter begins. Rye is best sown in 
drills 6 to 8 inches apart, using a regular grain drill and covering the seed 
one-half inch to two inches deep. The usual rate of seeding in the eastern 
states is about 6 pecks to the acre. Rye ripens about the middle of May 
in extreme northern Florida, and in the northern states between July 10 
and July 25 being a few days earlier than wheat. The crop is cut and 
bound like wheat and the shocks are relatively high as the stems frequently 
reach a height of six feet. It is difl&cult, therefore, to harvest it with a 
self-binder. After the crop is well-cured in the shock, it should be stacked, 
or put under cover until threshing time. The grain is threshed out the 
same way gis with wheat and the grains. 

Rotation. — Ordinarily rye occupies the place assigned to wheat in a 
rotation. The Rhode Island statioii has practised a six-course rotation, 
as follows: first year, winter rye; second year, timothy, redtop and me- 
dium red clover; third year, grass; fourth year, grass and fifth year, maize; 
sixth year, potatoes. No stable manure was applied, but liberal supplies 
of fertilizers were used. Rye which is to be used as a green manure may 
be sown in the standing maize in September, or after maize is shocked, 
may be disked in without plowing. It is plowed into the soil the following 
spring. A rotation for Minnesota and suitable for other states in the same 
latitude is first year, rye (land fall plowed after crop) ; second year, barley 
(seeded to clover) ; third year, clover (second crop plowed under) ; fourth 
year, corn; fifth year, barley, or other grain. In some of the North 
Atlantic states, where rye straw has a high value, the following rotation 
may be followed successfully: first year, corn, with a heavy application 
of stable manure; second year, oats with acid phosphate; third year, rye 
with acid phosphate; fourth year, grass, seeded the year before with the 



172 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

rye. The ten-year (1907-1916) average yields in bushels per acre of rye 
for several of the southeastern United States have been as follows: Ten- 
nessee, II. 3; North Carolina, 9.9; Alabama, 11. 2; Georgia, 9.3 and South 
Carolina, 10. i. 

Rice (Oryza sativa). — This aquatic, or marsh grass is annual in habit 
and best adapted to growth under aquatic, marsh, or very wet soil condi- 
tions. There are upland varieties, but the lowland type is the one most 
generally grown in this country and abroad. Its roots are fibrous with the 
possible production of adventitious roots by the first, second and third 
nodes. Tillers are formed freely with the production of four, or five, 
hollow stems growing to a height of two to six feet. The leaf sheaths are 
split and the blades are from eight to twelve inches long and ^-^ to i inch 
wide. The ligule is long and easily splits into two parts. The auricle is 
green, or white, and hairy. 

The inflorescence is a panicle of spikelets. The spikelet is compressed 
laterally and has two scale-like, or bristle-like glumes with a small, minute, 
accessory glume beneath each. The lemma is compressed, membrane- 
ous and five-nerved. The palet is similar in size and texture. Awns may 
be absent, or present, on both lemma and palet. The lodicules are small, 
thick and fleshy. There are six functional stamens in each rice flower. 
The ovary is somewhat longer than broad, smooth and bears two styles 
and occasionally a rudimentary, third style. Self pollination is the rule 
with rice. The tip flowers of the spike open first. The rice caryopsis is 
inclosed by lemma and palet, or by the palet alone. Rice with the hull 
is known as paddy. Commercially "cleaned rice" is the huUless grain. 
Polished rice has recently come into prominence, because it has been 
found that individuals and persons feeding on an almost exclusive rice 
diet, as in India and the Philippines, suffer from a disease known as beri- 
beri. It has been recently discovered that beri-beri is a disease of mal- 
nutrition due to the absence of phosphates which reside in the surface of 
the rice kernel. A change of diet from polished rice to unpolished removes 
the cause of the disease. 

Distribution and Soils. — Rice is the great food crop of the Chinese, 
Hindoos, Japanese and races of the Philippine islands and a grain of high 
quality has been produced in these regions. 1 1 is raised in northern Italy and 
in the southern United States outside of the great rice-producing countries. 
The bulk of the crop in the United States is raised in Louisiana and Texas. 
There is considerable acreage to rice in South Carolina and Georgia. 



THE MOST IMPORTANT CEREALS 173 

Rice is rarely raised north of that region in which the average summer 
temperature (June, July, August) is lower than 77°F., and in moist 
regions where lowland rice can be cultivated in delta, or alluvial lands, 
that can be inundated. The best soil for rice is a medium loam, containing 
about 50 per cent, of clay. This allows the presence of sufficient humus 
for the highest fertility without decreasing too much the compact nature 
of the soil; The rich, drift soils of the Louisiana and Texas prairies have 
shown a marvelous adaptation to rice. These soils are underlain with 
clay, so as to be retentive of water. 

The rice lands of the United States comprise delta lands, inland 
marshes, alluvial lands and prairie lands. A large part of the rice grown 
in South Carolina and Georgia is produced on tidal deltas, and to some 
extent on inland marshes. In eastern Louisiana, rice is grown on low 
lands, which were once used as sugar plantations, also on the well-drained 
alluvial lands farther up the Mississippi River. In 1884 and 1885, a 
few farmers from the northwestern prairie states settled on the great 
southern prairie which extends along the coast from the parish of St: 
Mary in Louisiana to the Texas line. Wherever they found the prairie 
land sufficiently level with a creek nearby, which could be used to flood the 
land, they built small levees 12 to 24 inches high with an interior ditch 
12 to 18 inches deep and form to five feet wide. Large crops of rice were 
raised by the adaptation of such agricultural machinery, as the gang plow, 
disk harrow, drUl and broadcast seeder to the new conditions, but a set 
back came owing to the cheap construction of the levees and the advent 
of dry summers when the streams went dry. There are large areas de- 
voted to raising rice in Arkansas where the rice fields vary from 10 to 40 
acres plowed with tractors and gathered by harvesters. The yields run 
as high as 104 bushels, the average yield in 1919 being 60 bushels. 

Cultivation. — The time of plowing is in the spring just before planting 
time and deep plowing should be practised as it places more food within 
reach of the roots of the growing rice. The amount of rice sown with a 
drill per acre varies in different sections and with different methods of 
sowing, from i to 3 bushels per acre should be used. After seeding just 
enough water is let on the field to saturate the ground. Flooding follows, 
when the rice is 6 to 8 inches tall, so as to prevent scalding of the plants. 
The depth of water that should be maintained from the first flooding 
until it is withdrawn for the harvest depends upon other conditions. If 
the growing crop thoroughly shades the land, just enough water to keep 



174 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

the soil saturated will do. To be on the safe side, the water should stand 
3 to 6 inches deep and to prevent stagnation, there should be a constant 
inflow and outflo\y. Large fields impede complete drainage and uniform 
ripening. Hence, small fields are the best. At harvest time, the water 
is drawn off and as the soil is rarely sufficiently dry at this time heavy 
machinery cannot be used. The sickle is the implement commonly used 
in harvesting rice which is then bound, when it is dry, and shocked on the 
dry ground. Ten to twelve days will completely cure the grain. The pri- 
mitive methods of flailing and treading out have given place to the use of 
the steam thresher. As the rice comes from the thresher it is known as 
"paddy," or "rough rice." It is passed through the mill to remove the 
hulls, or chaff, which are restored to the soil as a fertilizer, or are used as a 
mulch for garden and orchard. Rice straw is sweet and has an excellent 
flavor, much relished by stock, who eat it readily. As fashion demands 
rice with a fine gloss, it is usually polished, although its food value is 
diminished and an exclusive diet of polished rice induces a disease known 
as beri-beri. 

Buckwheat {Fagopyrum esculentum) . — The buckwheat is a member of 
the family PolygonacecB and, therefore, not a true cereal, but for con- 
venience, and because its fruit is grain-like, it is usually considered along 
with the grain-producing plants. There are two other species of buck- 
wheat occasionally cultivated in this country and in Asia. 

Description. — The roots of the buckwheat consist of a true primary 
roots with several branches. The stem ascends to a height of two to 
three feet, and bears alternate, triangular, heart-shaped, or halberd- 
shaped leaves with semicylindrical sheaths or ocrea. The white flowers 
are borne in corymbose racemes and are dimorphic with long styles 
and short styles respectively which prevents self-pollination. The sepals 
which alone are present bear eight, honey-bearing, yellow glands inter- 
posed between the eight stamens. The ovary is surmounted by three 
styles and the ripe achene is three-angled, smooth and shining. The 
grain incloses a single seed with a curved, dicotyledonous embryo 
surrounded by a starchy endosperm. 

Buckwheat is adapted to temperate climates with cool, moderately 
moist summers. The fruit does not set properly in dry, hot weather. It 
does well on poor soils. The principal use of buckwheat is in the manu- 
facture of pancake flour. The whole fruit is sometimes fed to cattle, 
hogs and poultry. The middlings (hulls mixed with bran) are utilized 



THE MOST IMPORTANT CEREALS 1 75 

in the feeding of stock. The honey made from the nectar of buckwheat 
by honey-bees has a high reputation for flavor. The plant is sometimes 
used as a green manure, being rich in ash and nitrogen. 

Cultivation. — The seed bed is prepared immediately preceeding the 
sowing of buckwheat by plowing and harrowing the soil. The farmers of 
northern Pennsylvania have a saying that buckwheat should be planted 
when the chestnut tree comes into flower, but the date of seeding varies 
from May ist to August ist, the preferred time being the middle of June 
to the middle of July. The plant comes into flower early and continues 
to bloom until frost comes. Buckwheat is usually harvested when the 
first achenes are mature, which is usually in September. Much is still 
harvested with a cradle. The plants are not bound, but are set up in 
shocks like maize fodder and threshed, as soon, as dry. The yield per 
acre varies from five to fifty bushels. An average of twenty to twenty- 
five bushels is considered a satisfactory yield. 

Bibliography 

The following items are arranged according to the cereal plants discussed above 
without any attempt at making the list complete. 

Maize 

Arctowskx, Henry K.: Studies on Climate and Crops. Corn Crops in the United 
States. Bulletin American Geographical Society, xliv, 745-760, October, 191 2. 

Bowman, M. L. and Crossley, B. W.: Corn Growing, Judging, Breeding, Feeding, 
Marketing. Ames, Iowa, Second Edition, 191 1. 

Br.and, Charles J.: The Utilization of Crop Plants in Paper Making. Yearbook, 
U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1910, 329-340; Crop Plants for Paper Making, 
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Gates, H. R.r.Farm Practice in the Cultivation of Corn. Bulletin 320, U. S. De- 
partment of Agriculture, 191 6. 

Chilcott, E. C, Cole, J. S. and Burr, W. W.: Corn in the Great Plains Area. Bull- 
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Collins, G. N.: A New Type of Indian Corn from China. Bulletin i6x. Bureau of 
Plant Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1909; The Importance of Broad 
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176 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

530, December, 191 2; A Variety of Maize with Silks Maturing before the Tassels. 
Circular 107, Bureau of Plant Industry, 1913; Correlated Characters in Maize 
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Zea ramosa and Zea tunicata. Journal Agricultural Research, ix, 383-395, June, 
1911; Breeding Sweet Corn Resistant to the Earworm. Journal Agricultural Re- 
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DuvEL, J. W. T.: Grades for Commercial Corn. Bulletin i68, U. S. Department of 
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Finch, V. C. and Baker, O. E.: Geography of the World's Agriculture. U. S. De- 
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Freeman, W. G. and Chandler, S. E.: The World's Commercial Products. Boston, 
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Teosinte and Maize. Contributions from the Botanical Laboratory, University 
of Pennsylvania, II, 231; Maize in Cyclopedia of American Agriculture, II, 398- 
402, 1908; An Unusual Form of Maize. Proceedings of the Delaware County 
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Hartley, C. P.: The Production of Good Seed Corn, Farmers' Bulletin 229, U. S. 
Department of Agriculture, 1905; Harvesting and Storing Corn. Farmers' Bulletin 
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Bulletin, 415, 1910; with Zook, L. L.: Corn Growing under Droughty Conditions. 
Farmers' Bulletin, 773, 1916. 

H^YES, H. K.: Inheritance in Corn. Report Connecticut .\gricultural Experiment 
Station, 1911, 407-425. 

Hayes, H. K. and East, E. M.: Inheritance in Maize. Bulletin 167, The Connecticut 
Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, April, 1911; Further Experiments 
on Inheritance in Maize. Bulletin 188, do., September, 1915. 

Hopkins, Cyril G.: The Chemistry of the Corn Kernel, Bulletin 53, University of 
Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station, Urbana, July, 1898; Methods in Corn 
Breeding, Bulletin 82, do., December, 1902; The Structure of the Corn Kernel and 
the Composition of its Different Parts. Bulletin 87, do., August, 1903. 

Hughes, H. D.: The Germination Test of Seed Corn. Bulletin 135, Agricultural 
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THE MOST IMPORTANT CEREALS 177 

Hume, Albert N. : The Testing of Corn for Seed. Bulletin 96, University of Illinois, 

Agricultural Experiment Station, Urbana, November, 1904. 
Hunt, Thomas F.: The Cereals of America. New York, Orange Judd Company, 

1912; Corn Growing in the East. Bulletin 116, The Pennsylvania State College 

Agricultural Experiment Station, April, 191 2. 
Jones, W. J. and Huston, H. A.: Composition of Maize at Various Stages of its Growth. 

Bulletin 175, Purdue University Agricultural Experiment Station, Lafayette, 

Indiana, 1914. 
Kempton, J. H.: Inheritance of Waxy Endosperm in Maize. Bulletin 754, U. S. 

Department of Agriculture, 1919. 
Kyle, C. H.: Corn Culture in the Southeastern States. Farmers' Bulletin 729, U. S. 

Department of Agriculture, 1916. 
Lindsey, J. B.: The Feeding Value of Corn Stover. Yearbook of the U. S. Department 

of Agriculture, 1896, 353-360. 
Lindstrom, E. W.: Chlorophyll Inheritance in Maize. Memoir 13, Cornell University, 

Agricultural Experiment Station, Ithaca, August, 1918. 
Montgomery, E. G.: What is an Ear of Corn? Popular Science Monthly, January, 

1906, pages 55-62; with Kiesselbach, T. A.: Studies in the Water Require- 
ments of Corn. Bulletin 128, Agricultural Experiment Station of Nebraska, 

Lincoln, 191 2. 
Myrick, Herbert: The Book of Corn. New York, Orange Judd Company, 1904. 
Pearl, Raymond and Surface, Frank M.: Experiments in Breeding Sweet Corn. 

Annual Report of the Maine Agricultural Experiment Station, 1910, 249-307. 
Pearl, Raymond and Bartlett, James M.: The Mendelian Inheritance of Certain 

Chemical Characters in Maize. Zeitschrift fiir induktive Abstammungs und 

Vererbungslehre, 1911, Bd. vi. Heft i u. 2, pages 1-28. 
Plumb, C. S.: Indian Corn Culture. Chicago, Breeder's Gazette Print, 1903. 
Robbins, Wilfred W.: The Botany of Crop Plants. Philadelphia, P. Blakiston's 

Son & Co., 1917. 
Sargent, Frederick Leroy: Corn Plants, their Uses and Ways of Life. Boston and 

New York, Houghton, MiflBin and Company, 1899. 
ScoFiELD, Carl S.: The Commercial Grading of Corn. Bulletin 4, Bureau of Plant 

Industry, 1903. 
Sherard, Sam H.: Corn Culture in the Philippine Islands. Bulletin 23, Bureau of 

Agriculture, Philippine Islands, 191 2. 
Shull, George H.: The Genotypes of Maize. The American Naturalist, 1911, 

234-252, 
Sturtevant, E. L.: Varieties of Corn. Bulletin 57, Office of the Experiment Stations, 

U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1899. 
Tracy, S. M.: Corn Culture in the South. Farmers' Bulletin 81, U. S. Department of 

Agriculture, 1898. 
Weatherwax, Paul: Morphology of the Flo wets of Zea mays. Bulletin Torrey Bo- 
tanical Club, 43, 127-144, April, 1916; The Development of the Spikelets of 

Zea mays, do, 43, 483-496, October, 1917; The Evolution of Maize, do, 45, 309- 

342, September, 1918; Gametogenesis and Fecundation in Zea mays as the Basis 

of Xenia and Heredity in the Endosperm, do, 46, 73-90, March, 191 9. 
12 



178 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

Webber, Herbert J.: Xenia, or the Immediate Effect of Pollen in Maize. Bulletin 
22, Division of Vegetable Physiology and Pathology, U. S. Department of Agri- 
culture, 1900. 

Wilson, ALEXA>fDER Stephen: Fertilization of Cereals. Gardeners' Chronicle, I, 
340-341 (March 14, 1874). 

Wing, De Witt C: The Improvement of Corn in Pennsylvania. Bulletin 133, De- 
partment of Agriculture of Pennsylvania, 1904. 

WissLER, Clark: Indian Corn as a World Food. American Museum Journal, January, 
1918, 25-29. 

Woods, Ch.^rles D.: Food Value of Corn and Corn Products. Farmers' Bulletin 298, 
U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1907. 

ZooK, L. L.: Tests of Corn Varieties on the Great Plains. Bulletin 307, U. S. De- 
partment of Agriculture, 1915. 

Oats 

Carleton, Mark Alfred: Ten Years Experience with the Swedish Select Oat. Bull- 
etin 182, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1910; The 
Small Grains. New York, The Macmillan Company, 1916. 

Chilcott, E. C: Oats in the Great Plains Area. Relation of Cultural Methods to 
Production. Bulletin 218, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1915. 

Etheridge, W. C. : A Classification of the Varieties of Cultivated Oats. Memoir 10, 
Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station, October, 1916 with 33 text 
figures and 22 plates in color. 

Finch, U. C. and Baker, O. E.: Geography of the World's Agriculture. U. S. De- 
partment of Agriculture, 1917. 

Freeman, W. G. and Chandler, S. E.: The World's Commercial Products. Boston, 
Ginn and Company, 19x1. 

Gardner, Frank D.: Successful Farming. Philadelphia, John C. Winston Company, 
1916. 

Hunt, Thomas J.: The Cereals in America. New York, Orange Judd Company, 191 2. 

RoBBiNS, Wilfred W.: The Botany of Crop Plants. Philadelphia, P. Blakiston's 
Son & Co., 1917. 

Smith, J. Russell: The World's Food Resources. New York, Henry Holt and Com- 
pany, 1919. 

Warburton, C. W. : Spring Oat Production. Farmers' Bulletin 892, U. S. Department 
of Agriculture, 1910; Oats: Distribution and Uses. Farmers' Bulletin 420, 1910; 
Oats: Growing the Crop. Farmers' Bulletin 424, 1910; Winter Oats for the South. 
Farmers' Bulletin 436, 1911. 

Wheat 

Ball, Carleton R.: E.xperiments with Marquis Wheat. Bulletin 400, U. S. De- 
partment of Agriculture, 1916. 

Ball, Carleton R. and Clark, Allen J.: Experiments with Durum Wheat. Bulletin 
618, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1918. 

Blanchard, Henry F.: Improvement of the Wheat Crop in California. Bulletin 
178, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1910. 



THE MOST IMPORTANT CEREALS 1 79 

Carleton, Mark AlPred: Macaroni Wheats. Bulletin 3, Bureau of Plant Industry, 
U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1901; Winter Emmer. Farmers' Bulletin 466, 
191 1 ; with Chamberlain, Joseph S.: The Commercial Status of Durum Wheat. 
Bulletin 70, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1904. 

Chilcott, E. C. : Spring Wheat in the Great Plains Area. Bulletin 214, U. S. De- 
partment of Agriculture, 191 5; with Cole, John S.: Growing Winter Wheat on 
the Great Plains. Farmers' Bulletin 895, 191 7; arid Cole, John S. and Kuska, 
J. B.: Winter Wheat in the Great Plains Area. Bulletin 595, U. S. Department of 
Agriculture, 191 7. 

Cook, O. F.: Wild Wheat in Palestine. Bulletin 274, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. 
Department of Agriculture, 1913. 

Edgar, William C: The Story of a Grain of Wheat. New York, D. Appleton and 
Company, 1903. 

Hunter, Byron: Dry Farming for Better Wheat Yields. The Columbia and Snake 
River Basins. Farmers' Bulletin 104, 1919. 

Leighty, Clyde E.: The Culture of Winter Wheat in the Eastern United States. 
Farmers' Bulletin 596, 19 14; Winter- wheat Varieties for the Eastern United 
States. Farmers' Bulletin 616, 1914. 

Lyon, T. L.: Improving the Quality of Wheat. Bulletin 78, Bureau of Plant Industry, 
U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1905. 

Salmon, Cecil and Clark, J. Allen: Durum Wheat. Farmers' Bulletin 534, 1913. 

ScoFiELD, Carl S.: The Algerian Durum Wheats. Bulletin 7, Bureau of Plant In- 
dustry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1902; The Description of Wheat Varieties, 
Bulletin 47, Bureau of Plant Industrj', 1903. 

Thomas, L. M.: A Comparison of Several Classes of American Wheats and a Con- 
sideration of Some Factors Influencing Quality. Bulletin 557, U. S. Department 
of Agriculture, 1917; Characteristics and Quality of Montana-grown Wheat. 
Bulletin 522, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 191 7. 

Barley 

Chilcott, E. C, Cole, J. S. and Burr, W. W.: Barley in the Great Plains Area. 

Bulletin 222, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1915. 
Derr, H. B.: Barley Culture in the Southern States. Farmers' Bulletin 427, U. S. 

Department of Agriculture, 1910; Barley: Growing the Crop. Farmers' Bulletin 

443, 1911; Winter Barley. Farmers' Bulletin 518, 1912. 
Harlan, Harry V.: The Identification of Varieties of Barley. Bulletin 622, U. S. 

Department of Agriculture, 1918; Cultivation and Utilization of Barley. Farmers' 

Bulletin 968, 1918. 
Mann, Albert: Morphology of the Barley Grain with Reference to its Enzym-secreting 

Areas. Bulletin 183, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1915. 

Rye 

Carleton, Mark Alfred: Russian Cereals Adapted for Cultivation in the United 
States. Bulletin 23, Division of Botany, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1900. 

Leighty, Clyde E. : Culture of Rye in the Eastern Half of the United States. Farmers' 
Bulletin 756, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1916; Rye Growing in the South- 
eastern States. Farmers' Bulletin 894, 191 7. 



l8o PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

Rice 

Chambliss, Charles E.: The Culture of Rice in California. Farmers' Bulletin 688, 
U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1915; Prairie Rice Culture in the United States. 
Farmers' Bulletin 1092, 1920. 

Freeman, W. G. and Chandler, S. E.: The World's Commercial Products. Boston, 
Ginn and Co., 191 1. 

Knapp, S. a.: Rice Culture in the United States. Farmers' Bulletin no, 1900; Rice 
Culture. Farmers' Bulletin 417, 1910. 

Wise, F. B. and Broomell, A. W.: The Milling of Rice and Its Mechanical and Chemi- 
cal Effect _upon the Grain. Bulletin 330, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1916. 

Buckwheat 

Gardner, Frank D.: Successful Farming. Philadelphia, The John C. Winston 

Company, 191 6. 
Hunt, Thomas F.: The Cereals in America. New York, Orange Judd Company, 191 2. 
Leighty, Clyde E.: Buckwheat. Farmers' Bulletin 1062, U. S. Department of 

Agriculture, 1919. 
RoBBiNS, Wilfred W.: The Botany of Crop Plants. Philadelphia, P. Blakbton's 

Son & Co., 1917. 

Laboratory Work 

Suggestions to Teachers. — Plants with inflorescences and flowers of oats, wheat, 
barley, rye and rice should be dried in the sun and then tied in bundles of a hundred, 
or more. The inflorescences should be wrapped in stiff paper for preservation. Ears of 
maize should be dried and kept in tin boxes and the tassel with the unopened flowers 
should be preserved in alcohol. Inflorescences of all the above cereals sh9uld be kept 
in alcohol. Fruits of buckwheat may be preserved in the dry state and whole plants 
with flowers in alcohol. Suggestions for the conduction of laboratory work with the 
cereals will be found in Hunt, Harris F.: The Cereals in America, 191 2, and to that 
book the teacher is referred. 

Laboratory Exercises 

1. Describe in detail, following the outline provided by the teacher, each of the 
cereal plants: corn, oats, wheat, barley, rye, rice and buckwheat. This can be done 
in any part of the civilized world, including China and Japan. 

2. Draw and study the caryopses of corn, oats, wheat, barley, rye and rice. 

3. Section the same and apply the iodine test in order to locate the position of the 
reserve food and the embryo. 

4. Study microscopic sections of wheat kernel in order to locate the aleurone layer. 
This. can be pursued with the other grains, if time permits. 

5. Draw and study the early stages of germination of the above fruits and deter- 
mine the different parts of the seedlings, as they unfold, or show sequential development. 

6. With such a book for reference, as the "Manual of Corn Judging," by A. D. 
Shamel, New York, Orange Judd Company (1903), learn to judge the various ears of 
corn kept for laboratory work in corn judging. 



CHAPTER 14 
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LEGUMINOS^ 

This family of approximately 487 genera and 10,782 species of plants 
is next to the grass family the most important one economically speaking 
in the vegetable kingdom. It includes herbs (clovers), shrubs (clammy 
locust) and trees (mesquite, honey locust). 

Roots. — Their roots are both primary and secondary upon which are 
found nodules, or tubercles, of varying size. These tubercles are in- 
habited by a bacterium, Pseudomonas radicicola, which is active in their 
formation. It is believed that this organism associated in the galls or 
tubercles with the leguminous plants is capable of utilizing free atmos- 
pheric nitrogen, and in some way is able to transform this inorganic nitrogen 
into organic nitrogen, which is absorbed by the higher green leguminous 
plants.^ 

Stems. — The stems of the herbaceous plants of the family are annual 
(peas), biennial (sweet clover) and perennial (alfalfa). Sometimes twining 
stems are met with in the herbaceous stems (bean), or in the woody stems 
(Wistaria), when they are known as lianes. Occasionally, as in the genus 
Lathyrus, the stems may be winged. 

Leaves. — The leaves are alternate and stipulate. The stipules, as in 
the pea, may be enlarged and leaf-like, in other cases (black locust), they 
may be converted into spines. The leaves are simple (Chorizema), or 
compound, palmately, or pinnately compound. The palmately com- 
pound leaf may be trifoliate of three leaflets, or as in lupine, there may be 
as many as seven to eleven leaflets. The pinnately compound leaves 
may be trifoliate with the middle leaflet provided with a longer petiolule 
than the other two, or it may have more than three leaflets, up to many, 
with a terminal leaflet (odd, or imparip innate), or with a pair of terminal 
leaflets (paripinnate), or ending in a simple, or a branched, tendril 
(tendriliform, or cirrhiferous). The bases of the leaflets and the base of 
the common petiole have swellings known as pulvini. The presence of 
these pulvini enables the leaflets to assume nyctitropic and hot-sun posi- 

1 See Chapter 16. 



l82 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTUKAL BOTANY 



tions, and in the sensitive plants, represented by Mimosa pudica, a stimu- 
lation of a terminal leaflet, for example, causes the movement of all of 
the leaflets of the compound leaf, if the stimuli are sufiiciently strong. 




Fir,. 73.— Details of Pea {Pisuni sativum). A, Flower; B, Longitudinal section of 
flower showing ovary, diadelphous stamens, etc.; C, diadelphous stamens and style 
with stigma; D, pistil of pea flower; E, seed deprived of its coats; F, floral diagram; 
s = sepals; p = petals; si - stamens; c = carpel. 

The movement in the sensitive plants of this family is due to the movement 
of water from the lower to the upper side of the pulvinus, so that the whole 




Fig. 74. — A, Floral diagram of red bud {Cercis canadensis) of the sub family C.\esal- 
PiNOiDE.*;; B, Diagram of wattle (Acacia latifolia) ot the subfamily MiMosoiDEyE; 
b = bract; b' = bractlet; 5 = sepals; p = petals; si = stamens; c = carpel; a = 
axis. 



leaf drops through a considerable angle. The telegraph plant (Desmo- 
dium gyrans) shows spontaneous movements of its leaflets upwards and 
downwards, changing their position sometimes by as much as i8o°. 



GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LEGUMINOS^ 



183 



standard 



Inflorescence and Flowers. — The inflorescence is a raceme {golden 
chain), an umbel, a spike-like raceme, or a head (capitulum), as in the 
clovers. The flowers are regular (Mimosa), or mostly irregular with three 
to five sepals, and usually five petals with perigynous insertion. As 
there are three types of flowers, their structure may be described by ref- 
erence to the three subfamilies, viz., 
PapilionoidecB (Fig. 73) Ccesalpinoidece 
and MimosoidecB (Fig. 74). The 
papilionaceous flowers are irregular 
with three to five sepals and five 
petals, the posterior one of which is 
called the vexillum, standard, or flag 
petal; two lateral petals, the wings, or 
alae, and two interior petals united by 
their edges to form the keel, or carina 
(Figs. 73 and 75). The stamens are 
perigynous in insertion, ten in number, 
monadelphous, diadelphous, or occa- 
sionally distinct. The standard in- 
closes the lateral petals in this sub- 
family, so that the estivation is known 
as the vexillary type. The caesal- 
piniaceous flowers are irregular, or re- 
gular, with the odd petal, or standard, 
inclosed by the two lateral petals, or 
wings, and the stamens are generally 
ten in number and distinct. The 
mimosaceous flower is regular with 
three tp five petals, which are valvate 
in the bud and the stamens are 
numerous, or indefinite, and distinct 
(see floral diagrams in figures 73 and (Phaseojus vulgaris) ^.spiral keel; b. 

^ ° o (^ entire flower. X2>.). (Robbtns.) 

74-) 

Ovary and Fruit. — The ovary is superior in all three subfamilies. It 
is apocarpous with one carpel. It is one-celled with parietal placenta. 
The style may be long or short, bent, or straight (Fig. 76). The fruit is a 
pod, or legume, occasionally a transversely divided pod, known as the loment. 
Each division of the loment is usually one-seeded. The seeds are large 




Fig. 75. — Common kidney bean 



1 84 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



or small and exalbuminous that is, with the reserve food stored in the seed 
leaves, or cotyledons, which become fleshy as a consequence. 

Economic Plants. — The economic plants of the family are numerous 
and their uses are manifold, on account of the presence of starch and 
protein, as reserve materials in their seeds and other parts. Many legumi- 
nous plants are used as human food. Such are the peas (Pisum), beans 
(Phaseolus), broad bean (Vicia), soy (Soja), peanut (Arachis), lentil (Lens), 
whose seeds are used in various ways, and the pods of carob {Ceratonia) 
and tamarind {Tamarindus), are eaten by man. The fodder plants of 
the family include the clovers (Trifolium), alfalfa {Medicago) sweet clover 
(Melilotus) sainfoin {Onohrychis) , serradella (Ornithopus) , cowpea (Vigna) 




Pig. 76. — Pistil of flower of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris). (Robbins after Knuth.) 



Timber Trees. — The trees of the family useful for timber and structural 
wood are logwood {IIcEmaioxylon campechianuni) , black locust {Robinia 
pseudacacia), mesquite {Prosopis juliflora), rosewood (Dalbergia latifolia) 
and others. The plants, which are capable of producing commercial, 
fibers, are Crotalaria jtincea, Sesbania cannabina, S. esculenla, Aeschyno- 
mene spinulosa, Erythrina suberosa, etc. A considerable number of 
plants yield gums, such as, copaiva balsams {Copaifera), balsam of 
tolu (Tohnfera), copal (Hytnencea), gum arable (Acacia), gum kino 
(Pierocarpus). As dye-yielding plants may be mentioned species of 
Genista (yellow), Indigofera (blue), Muama priiriens, (black), Hcema- 
toxylon (purple). 



GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LEGUMINOS^ 1 85 

Drugs. — The important drugs of this family are abrus (Abrus precat- 
orius), gum arable (Acacia arabica), gum Senegal (Acacia Senegal), balsam 
of Peru (Toluifera Pereirtz) , wild indigo (Baptisia tinctoria), purging cassia 
(Cassia fistula), copaiba (Copaiba oblongifolia, C. officinalis), fenu- 
greek (Trigonella Foeno-groecum), liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra), indigo 
(Indigofera tinctoria), physostigma (Physostigma venenosum), senna (Acacia 
senna), tamarind (Tamarindus indictis) and tragacanth (Astragalus 
gummiftr). The poisonous plants of the family, such as the loco weeds, 
have been described in a previous chapter. 

Garden Plants. — A large number of beautiful garden plants belong to 
this family. Such are the sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus), genista 
(Cytisus canariensis) , lupine (Lupinus pcrennis, etc), wistaria (Wis- 
taria sinensis), black locust (Robinia pseudacacia) , flamboyant tree 
(Poinciana regia), acacia (Acacia), etc. 

Bibliography 

Engler, a. and Prantl, K.: Die naturlichen Pflanzenfamilien III, Teil, 3 Abteilung, 

1894, 70-384. 
Gray, Asa, revised by Robinson, B. H. and Fernald, M. L.: A Handbook of the 

Flowering Plants and Ferns of the Central and Northeastern United States and 

Adjacent Canada. (Seventh Edition), 1908, 499-530. 
Hare, Hobart A., Caspari, Charles and Rusby. H. H.: The National Standard Dis- 
pensatory. (Eighth Revision), 1905. 
Kraemer, Henry: Applied and Economic Botany. 1914, 567-577. 
Le Maout, Emm. and Decaisne, J.: A General System of Botany, Descriptive and 

Analytical. London, 1873, 364-374. 
RoBBiNS, Wilfred W.: The Botany of Crop Plants. Philadelphia, P. Blakiston's 

Son & Co., 1917, 413-468. 
Warming, Eug. transl. by Potter, M. C: A Handbook of Systematic Botany. 1895, 

466-475. 
Wettstein, Richard R. V.: Handbuch der Systematischen Botanik. (Zweite 

Auflage), 191 1, 656-666. 

Laboratory Works 

Suggestion to Teachers. — During the winter months when this family will be 
studied probably by the class in botany, only a relatively few plants will be available. 
They are sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus), genista {Cytisus canariensis), chorizeme {Chori- 
zema ilicijolia), and if large greenhouses are conveniently located, several species of 
Acacia and Mimosa may be utilized. In California and the west lupines (Lupimis), 
clovers {Trifolium) and alfalfa (Medicago), etc., can be had. Flowers of a number of 
wild and cultivated species of this family, as locally obtainable, may be kept in alcohol. 



l86 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

Dried pods of honey locust, mesquite, Kentucky coffee tree, etc., may be kept, and of 
course bean, pea, broad bean, vetch, lentil, cowpea, clover and alfalfa seeds are always 
available for class use, and may be grown in flats or pots in the laboratory greenhouse, 
or window. If the work is undertaken in spring and summer, out-of-door species can 
be had. 

Laboratory Exercises 

1. Study the morphology of the roots, stem, leaves and flowers of the sweet pea 
and compare with the flowers of two other selected papilionaceous types. These may 
be compared with alcoholic Cercis (C^salpinioide^) and Acacia (Mimosoide.e) 
Other members of the family can be selected according to geographic location. 

2. Study the dried and swollen seeds of pea, bean, broad bean and clovers. Draw 
and then identify the parts of the embryos. 

3. Scrape out some of the reserve food materials on a slide, examine the starch 
grains and then stain with iodine solution. 

4. A study of the nodules has been reserved for a later chapter. 



CHAPTER 15 
THE FORAGE PLANTS OF THE FAMILY LEGUMINOS.E 

There are a large number of available plants of this family, which can 
be used for forage, but the majority of them although they have been 
introduced and tried have not been tested sufficiently to warrant their 
general cultivation. Such are the sainfoin {Onohrychis viciaefolia) , Egyp- 
tian clover {Trifolium alexandrinum) , bur clover (Medicago arabica) , yellow 
clover (Medicago lupuUna), Japan clover {Lespedeza striata), Florida 
clover (Desmodium tortiiosum), purple vetch (Vicia atro purpurea), and 
velvet bean (Mucuna utilis). There are however, a number of ex- 
tremely important species which will be discussed in the pages which fol- 
low. They are alfalfa, red clover, alsike clover, crimson clover, white 
clover, sweet clover, Canadian field pea, cowpea, soy, hairy-vetch and 
the peanut. These plants are not only useful in the amount of forage 
that they yield, but because they are used also as green manures to enrich 
the soil and in their growth to crowd out weeds. 

Alfalfa {Medicago sativa). — The original home of this plant appears to 
have been southwest of central Asia having been cultivated by the Per- 
sians, who carried it with them in the invasion of Greece about 490 B.C. 
It was cultivated by the Romans at an early date for Varro in his "Rerum 
Rusticarum Libri Tres," Book I, Chapter XLII speaks of the plant. 
"You should take care not to plant alfalfa in soil which is neither too dry 
or half wet, but in good order. The authorities say that if the soil is in 
proper condition a modius (peck) and a half of alfalfa seed will suffice to 
sow a jugerum of land. This seed is sowed broad-cast on the land like 
grass and grain." Although we have used the name alfalfa in the above 
account of the plant introduced into Italy from Greece, yet the name is a 
Moorish one introduced into Spain with the Moors in the eighth century, 
whence it reached Mexico and South America with the Spaniards. The 
name came into current use in California, when the plant was introduced 
across the border. 

187 



i8S 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL UOTANY 



Description. — The alfalfa is a perennial member of the leguminous 
family with deep growing roots penetrating usually to about nine feet, 
but under exceptional conditions to a depth of forty and even sixty feet. 
The aerial stems are ascending, or erect, and increase in number with 
successive cuttings, so that a single root system may give rise to as many 
as one hundred stems, although usually the number varies from twenty to 




Fig. 77. — Alfalfa, or lucern {Medicago saliva): a, b, seed pod, side and end view: 
c, seeds, enlarged. (After Smith, Jared G.: Meadows and Pastures. Farmers' Bulletin 
66, 1904, p. 27.) 

fifty. Three cuttings are made yearly throughout the alfalfa-growing 
regions of the United States, although in the Imperial Valley, California, 
as many as nine cuttings have been made in one year. The leaves are 
with a serrate margin (Fig. 77). The inflorescence is a short, dense raceme 
with purple, papilionaceous flowers. The color may at times be green, 
blue or yellow. The calyx teeth are longer than the so called calyx tube. 
The standard exceeds the wings in length, which are longer than the keel. 



FORAGE PLANTS OF THE FAMILY LEGUMINOS^ 



189 



The staminal tube of ten, diadelphous stamens is held in a state of tension 
by two opposite lateral projections arising from the inside of the keel. 
This mechanism brings about the explosive discharge of the pollen, when 
the staminal tube is released, and the pistil and stamen snap up against 
the standard and this process is 



untnpped 




tripped 



lateral ^ 

5\am\nal tube- 
free 3tamen 




known as "tripping." Bumble- 
bees and leaf-cutting bees are 
usually the "trippers" of alfalfa 
flowers (Fig. 78). Insect visita- 
tion induces cross pollination, 
but automatic release of the 
floral parts by the action of 
humidity and temperatures re- 
sults in self pollination. An 
abundance of insect life usually 
increases the output of seeds. 
Other conditions of climate and 
cultivation also influence seed 
production. The alfalfa fruit is 
a spirally coiled pod with two or 
three coats. Each pod contains 
from one to eight kidney-shaped 
seeds about 3-^ inch long, which, 
retain their vitality for many 
years (Fig. 77). 

Varieties. — There are a con- 
siderable number of varieties of 
alfaKa in cultivation. There is 
a hardy variety suitable for 

growth in the cold northwest Fig. 78.— Pollination of alfalfa. A, flower 
. ~ . ir If ml-* untripped with calyx and standard removed; 

known as Grimm alfalfa. This ^^ g^me tripped; C. position of staminal tube 
hardiness may be due to a strain untripped and tripped. (Robbins after U. S. 

of the yellow-flowered alfalfa " ^^^ 

(Medicago falcata). There is the sand lucern and variegated alfalfa and 
varieties designated by the names of the countries of their derivation, as 
the American, Arabian, German, Peruvian and Turkestan varieties. 
The Turkestan variety is well-adapted to drought resistance. Arabian 
alfalfa is suited to warm conditions, as in Arizona and Texas, while 
Peruvian alfalfa is adapted to countries where irrigation is practiced. 




untripp 



IQO PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

Soil and Planting. — The soil should be in excellent tilth at planting 
time with a fine top for the seeding bed. The soil should be neutral -and 
well drained with an open sub-soil permitting the penetration of the al- 
falfa roots. The seeds should be carefully selected with perfect vitality 
and clear of weed seeds. Southern-grown seeds should not be used in the 
north as there is a danger of winter-killing. The time of sowing alfalfa 
varies in the different sections of the country, but late summer seeding is 
usually best in the east and south. Spring seeding is the rule in the irri- 
gated and semi-arid sections of the west. The seeds should be covered and 
not sown on the surface of the ground. Alfalfa may be planted with a 
drill, or seeded broad-cast with a hand seeder, or wheel-barrow seeder. 
It is usually best to sow half the seed one way across the field and the other 
half at right angles to the line of the first sowing. The quantity of seed 
required per acre is greater in the humid sections than in the semi-arid 
and irrigated regions. Twenty pounds of seed per acre is usually recom 
mended, although in the west fair stands have been secured with one to 
five pounds. A pound of ordinary alfalfa contains 220,000 seeds. 

Treatment. — If seeded in the late summer or early autumn, alfalfa 
will require no treatment that fall unless it grows a foot long before winter 
arrives. Then it should be clipped back to about eight, or ten inches. 
The first cutting of hay should be secured in the late spring. Ordinarily, 
no treatment is required during the second season, except to cut the plants 
when they are about one-tenth in bloom. No pasturing should be al- 
lowed during the first and second seasons. As alfalfa lasts about twelve 
years, the subsequent care of the crop should be governed by the appear- 
ance of weeds and bare spots. A disk harrow may be used advantageously 
in loosening up the soil and destroying weeds. 

Harvesting. — The methods of harvesting hay vary considerably. The 
ideal should be to get the alfalfa into the loft with t"he least possible hand- 
ling and exposure to the weather, as its leaflets readily drop off. This 
results in a serious loss, as three-fifths of all the protein in the plant is 
contained in the leaves. The hay may be stacked, or baleid, or converted 
into ensilage. Alfalfa is an ideal soiling crop. Grazing of the plant 
should be done sparingly. 

Use as a Feed. — Alfalfa can be used in the feeding of dairy cows, as 
roughage for beef cattle. Alfalfa is an ideal hay for sheep, but it is apt 
to cause bloat, if the sheep are turned into alfalfa pastures. Hogs may 
be fed cut alfalfa in the green state, or in pasture and horses too may be 



FORAGE PLANTS OF THE FAMILY LEGUMINOS^ 



191 



given green alfalfa and hay made from the plant. Alfalfa is an excellent 
feed for poultry and its nectar is converted by bees into excellent honey. 
It is one of the most highly nutritious and palatable of feeds either in the 
green state, or as hay. Fresh alfalfa contains 71.8 per cent, of water: 

2.7 per cent, of ash; 4.8 per cent, 
protein; 7.4 per cent, of crude fiber; 
12.3 per cent, of nitrogen free ex- 
tract and i.o per cent, of the ex- 
tract fat. Alfalfa hay contains 8.4 
per cent, of water; 7.5 per cent, of 
ash; 14.3 per cent, of protein; 25.0 
per cent, of crude fiber; 42.7 per 
cent, of nitrogen free extract and 
2.2 per cent, of the extract (fat). 
The value of alfalfa hay is slightly 
more than double that of timothy. 
Alfalfa hay is richer than red clover 





Pig. 79. Fig. 80. 

Fig. 79. — Red clover (Trifoliutn pralense). {After Piper, C. V.: Leguminous Crops for 

Green Manuring. Farmers' Bulletin 278, 1907, p. 15.) 

Fig. 80. — Stages in the development of red clover seed: a andV, Flower in prime and 

ripe; b and d, immature and mature seed vessel; e, mature seed. {After Weslgate, J. M. 

and Hillman, F. H.: Red Clover. Farmers' Bulletin 455, 1915, p. 9.) 

hay in digestible crude protein, but is lower in fat and contains slightly 
less digestible carbohydrates. Respiration experiments show that clover 
hay furnishes slightly more net nutrients than alfalfa hay. 

Red Clover {Trifolium pratense). — Red Top is a biennial, or a peren- 
nial plant of short duration with spreading stems eighteen inches to two 



192 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

feet lall and pubescent from a tap root, which reaches a depth of three to 
six feet. The stipules are large at the base of a petiole, which is two to 
three inches long, bearing three ovate to elliptic leaflets with an entire 
margin. The floral heads are large, globose to hemispherical with pink 
papilionaceous flowers (Fig. 79). The calyx is five-toothed, with narrow, 
hairy teeth. The pod is one- to two-seeded (Fig. 80). This clover was 
introduced from Europe and is now growing spontaneously throughout 
North America. Linnaeus in his original description of the plant in 
"Species Plantarum," 1753, says "Habitat in Europae graminosis." 
Protandry is the rule with red clover flowers and they must be cross- 
pollinated in order to set seed. The story, that red clover grown in New 
Zealand failed to set seed until the bumble bee was introduced into the 
country, has been contradicted, but this can be said that the bumble bee 
is the most efficient of all the insect pollinating agents, while the honey 
bee with a proboscis 6 mm. in length is 3.6 mm. shorter than the average 
of the corolla tubes of the first crop, red clover flowers. In 191 1, the honey 
bee proved to be an efficient cross pollinator. 

Treatment. — Red clover is the staple, leguminous forage crop in the 
north central and northeastern states. Any soil that will grow satis- 
factory crops of corn will produce good returns from red clover. A deep 
soil is desirable as the roots extend some distance into it. The presence 
of humus is requisite as the plant does not grow well in its absence. Red 
clover is usually sowed in the spring on winter grain, and at that time no 
special preparation of the seed bed is necessary, as the first has pulverized 
the soil. Clover seed should be sown with one of the various kinds of 
grass seed drills on the market at the rate of eight to ten pounds of seed to 
the acre planted one to two inches deep. This weight of seed is often 
mixed with ten to twelve pounds of timothy. When seeded with a grain 
nurse crop, no special treatment is given clover the first season. It de- 
velops in the stubble after the grain has been cut and occasionally may 
afford some pasture the same fall. Cutting should be deferred until the 
second year, when a cut can be made for hay and a second crop for seed. 
When mixed with timothy, the stand is often allowed to remain three or 
four years with a gradual decrease in the clover plants. When seeded in 
the fall in corn or with rape, one or two crops may be expected the fol- 
lowing season in addition to considerable pasture. A top-dressing of 
barn-yard manure at any time acts beneficially on red clover. 

Harvesting and Yield.— Red clover is best harvested for hay when one- 
third of the blossoms have begun to turn brown. At this time the plant 



FORAGE PLANTS OF THE FAMILY LEGUMINOS^ 1 93 

contains the maximum of nutrients. When cut as a soiling crop, the cut- 
ting may begin, as soon, as the first flowers appear, and if used for silage, 
the plants should be fully mature. Some farmers prefer to pasture their 
clover instead of cutting it. Sometimes the crop is grown for seed which 
may be successfully produced in regions where clover hay is produced. 
Each head produces an average of twenty-five to thirty seeds each, which 
would make the yield one to two bushels to the acre. The self-rake reaper 
is the best machine to harvest the crop for seed, while a clover huUer is 
used in the threshing operations. The average yield of clover hay per 
acre, according to the census of 1910, was 1.29 tons, but under favorable 
conditions the yield in two cuttings ranged from two to four tons to the 
acre. 

Nutrient Value. — Red Clover is one of the most highly nutritious 
forage plants either in the green state, or cured as hay. Clover hay con- 
tains 15.3 per cent, water, 6.2 per cent, ash, 12.3 per cent, protein, 24.8 
per cent, crude protein, 38.1 per cent, introgen free extract, 3.3 per cent, 
ether extract (fat), of these constituents 67 per cent, protein 53 per cent, 
crude fiber 78 per cent, nitrogen-free extract and 65 per cent, ether ex- 
tract (fat) are digestible. Many rotations in which red clover enters have 
played a prominent part in the agriculture of America. A common 
rotation is corn followed by oats, which in turn are followed by wheat. 
The wheat in turn acts as a nurse crop for the red clover sown with it. 
After clover has stood two years, the clover soil is plowed down to corn 
again. There are rotations of clover with rye or cotton, etc. 

Varieties. — The recognized varieties of red clover are the ordinary 
red clover, the mammoth red clover, the Russian red clovers and special 
forms of red clover, which have been bred for their disease-resistant quali- 
ties. 

Alsike Clover (Trifolium hybridum). — This is a clover intermediate 
in appearance between red and white clover and was supposed by Linnaeus 
to be a natural hybrid of the two other clovers. Alsike clover is adapted 
remarkably to wet soils and also to soils which are too low in humus to 
grow red clover to advantage. Seed may be obtained from the first crop 
although an early clipping, especially if there is a wet spring, will result 
in a better crop of seed. Excellent honey is obtained from the flower. 
The alsike clover plant is a perennial plant lasting from three to five years 
and longer. It is an erect, branching, rather stout, smooth herb growing 
one to three feet tall arising from a large tap root. The leaves are long 



194 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTL'UAL BOTANY 



with greenish veins and tap^r-pointed stipules. They have a slightly 
bitter taste. The flowers are pedicelled and white to pink. The pods 
are two- to four-seeded. The seeds lose their vitality rapidly after the 
second year. The seed is smaller than red clover and is seeded at the 
rate of four to eight pounds per acre. The plant is hardier than red clover 
and matures about two weeks earlier, and therefore, should be grown 

with early maturing grasses, such as, orchard 
grass and red top. 

Crimson Clover (Trifoliumincarnatum). — 
The French clover is an erect, pubescent 
annual growing from six inches to two feet 
tall. Its leaves have long petioles with 
purple-margined, broad stipules (Fig. 8i). 
The bright crimson flowers are produced in a 
spike, which is two or three inches long. 
The seed is shiny, when fresh, and of a pink 
color. This clover is a native of Mediter- 
ranean Europe and has been cultivated in 
this country since 1822. 

Treatment. — It is adapted especially for 
use as a cover crop, and as a green manure 
in the Atlantic states. It is seeded in 
August alone, or in corn. The special advan- 
tage in its growth lies in the fact that its 
autumn, winter and early spring develop- 
ment, is sufficient so that it may be turned 
under the following spring in time for the 
planting of another crop, such as corn in the 
north, or cotton in the south. It is also 
valuable for pasturing, soiling, or for ensilage 
coming at a time when other green forage is 
scarce. It should not be fed when the floM'ers 
have developed, for as previously narrated, crimson clover hair balls may 
kill horses and other animals by an obstruction of the bowels. Both 
the hay and seed crops are handled in about the same way as red clover. 
It is a hard crop to establish for the absence of rains in late summer is 
responsible for most of the failures to obtain a satisfactory stand. 
Crimson clover is benefitted by a liming of the soil. Shallow seeding, 




Fig. 81. — Crimson clover 
(Trifoliumincarnatum). (After 
Ball, Carlelon R.: Winter Forage 
Crops for the South. Farmers' 
Bulletin 147, 1902, p. 30). 



FORAGE PLANTS OF THE FAMILY LEGUMINOS.E 1 95 

using fifteen pounds per acre, has been found to be the best practice. 
Ordinarily no special treatment is required after seeding and before the 
winter arrives. Some fall pasturage may be obtained, if the growth be 
sufficiently rank. 

Use. — Crimson-clover hay is considered by dairymen to be fully equal, 
if not superior, to red, or alsike clover, as a roughage for their cows, sheep, 
horses, mules and other animals in sections where grown. It is gathered 
to some extent for the making of bouquets, when in full flower. 




Fig. 82. — White clover, showing creeping habit, one-half natural size. {After 
Jones, L. R.: Vermont Grasses and Clovers. Bulletin 94, Vermont Agricultural Experi- 
ment Station, May, 1902.) 

White Clover {Trifolimn repens). — This clover, growing wild every- 
where in America, was introduced from Europe. In Ireland, it is known as 
the shamrock and is raised in pots for distribution by the big department 
stores on St. Patrick's day. The plant is perennial growing by means 
of prostrate stems rooting at the nodes (Fig. 82). The leaves are tri- 
fohate, obcordate with narrow membranous stipules. The inflorescence 
is a head of white, or pinkish flowers, which are fragrant and yield a honey 
of the first quality. The mature flowers, which turn brown in color, are 



196 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



reflexed on the peduncle of the head. Cross pollination by insects is neces- 
sary for the production of seeds. The small pods are usually four seeded. 
Utility. — The plant is adapted only for pasturage, as it does not attain 
sufficient height to be mown for hay. Some attribute the fine flavor of 
the mutton from the Southdown breed of sheep in England, as due to the 
animals feeding on the white clover pasturage of the chalk downs of the 
south-eastern part of that country. However, that may be, white clover is 

a plant which can withstand the close crop- 
ping to which turf is subjected by flocks of 
sheep feeding in the open. White clover is 
frequently used in lawn mixtures, but on 
golf courses, it is not usually welcomed. 
The good points of white clover as a turf 
plant are its ability to grow on poor soil, to 
form a close, dense mat, and to withstand 
very close clipping. On putting greens, 
white clover is looked upon as a weed. 

Rotation. — The seed crop matures in July 
and August in the northern states and the 
yield of seed varies from two to six bushels 
per acre. A two-year rotation of barley one 
year followed by white clover for seed the 
second is common in eastern-central 
Wisconsin. Elsewhere, it is seeded with 
bluegrass, and rarely, if ever, causes bloat 
as red clover is apt to do. The giant white, 
or Ladino clover {Trifolium repens var. lata) 
is a tall-growing variety of white clover 
originally from Italy affords good pasturage. 
Sweet Clover {Melilotus alba). — The 
ordinary, white sweet clover is a biennial 
plant developing from a heavy tap-root with lateral branches and with 
small white tubercles on the smaller rootlets and near the crown of 
the root. During the first year, it is an erect, stemmy plant with some- 
what scattered leaves. These leaves are petioled and pinnately trifoliate 
and at their ba^es are large stipules. The flowers are small borne in long, 
slender racemes (Fig. 83). The calyx teeth are short and subequal. 
The standard is obovate, or oblong, the wings oblong and the keel short 




Fig. 83. — Sweet clover 
(Melilotus alba). (Division of 
Bot., U. S. Dept. of Agriculture). 
(Reproduced in Pammel, L. H.: 
Some Weeds of Iowa. Bull. 70, 
Experiment Station, Iowa State 
College, 1903, p. 352.) 



PORAGE PLANTS OF THE FAMILY LEGUMINOS/E 197 

and obtuse. Ten diadelphous stamens occur and the ovary is superior 
with a thread-Hke style. The pods are globose, small and one-seeded. 
The first season it makes a growth of eighteen to thirty inches in height 
and stores in the tap-root a considerable amount of reserve food. During 
the second season, it makes a growth of five to twelve feet and dies when 
the seeds are mature. 

Distribution and Soils. — The sweet clover, also known as Bokhara 
clover, is a native of central Asia introduced about two thousand years 
ago into the Mediterranean region, where it has been utilized as a honey 
plant and for forage purposes. It was introduced into America as early 
as 1738, but its value was not recognized until about twenty years ago. 
It is at present grown extensively as a field crop in Alabama, Mississippi, ' 
Kentucky and Utah and locally on a field scale in Nebraska, Colorado, 
Wyoming, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. About Phila- 
delphia, it is thoroughly naturalized. It is an indicator of good alfalfa 
soils, for where sweet clover grows, alfalfa will grow, and as it is spread 
over all parts of the United States, this test is of general applicability 
through the length and breadth of our land. Almost any reasonable 
well-drained soU will grow sweet clover. It is more tolerant of poor 
draining than either alfalfa, or red clover. It makes its best growth on 
rich, well-limed soils. 

Seeding. — The seed bed should be well compacted with enough loose 
soil on top to cover the seeds which are sown at the rate of twenty to 
thirty pounds of hulled seeds and at least five pounds more of unhulled 
seed per acre. Early spring seeding has been found satisfactory in many 
sections. When sown in ordinary cultivated fields, sweet clover is usu- 
ally sown later in the spring and with a nurse crop of spring-sown grain. 
Fall seeding is successful in regions with mild winters. Where seeded 
in the spring without a nurse crop, no special treatment is required the 
first season unless it is necessary to check the weeds. When seeded with 
a nurse crop, such a crop may be cut for grain,- if the moisture conditions 
are favorable, but if a drought threatens the sweet-clover, the crop should 
be cut for hay. A good hay crop, or summer pasture, may be obtained 
in the south in the first season even when sown with a nurse crop, but in 
the north a small amount of late pasture only is usually available. 

Pasturage and Hay. — Sweet clover produces good pasturage very 
early in the spring before other pasture plants commence growth. It 
will furnish a good hay crop in the north in the latter part of June and a 



19^ 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



second crop of hay, or seed late in the summer. Two crops of hay and 
one of seed may be obtained in the south during the second season. Sweet 
clover plants are raked into windrows just before the leaves become dry 




Fig. 84. — Canada pea {Pisum sativum), (After Mairs, T. J.: Some Soiling Crops 
for Pennsylvania. Bull. 109, Pennsylvania Stale College Agricultural Experiment 
Station, 191 1, p. 5.) 

enough to shake off the stems. After a day in the windrows, it is shocked 
and cured. 

Nutritive Valve. — Sweet clover may be used as a soiling plant, or as a 
pasture plant and is a useful soil renovator. It is palatable and nutri- 



FORAGE PLANTS OF THE FAMILY LEGUMINOS/E 



199 



tious, although it has a bitter taste due to its cumarin content. Fresh 
sweet clover has the following composition: water 77.0 per cent., ash 1.8 
per cent., protein 3.9 per cent., crude fiber 6.9 per cent., nitrogen-free 
extract 9.4 per cent, and ether extract (fat) 0.6 per cent. Sweet clover 
hay contains water 7.7 per cent., ash 7.5 per cent., protein 13.3 per cent., 
crude fiber 26.9 per cent., nitrogen-free extract 42.6 per cent, and ether 
extract 2.1 per cent. It has been determined tha.t the value of sweet-clover 
hay is almost double that of timothy and inter- 
mediate between red clover and alfalfa. 

Field Pea (Pisum sativum var. arvense). — The 
field pea also called the Canadian field pea (Fig. 
84) differs slightly from the garden pea (P. sativum) 
(Fig. 85). They have violet flowers and small gray, 
or buff seeds, which are rather angular, but not 
wrinkled, while garden peas have white flowers and 
whiter, more globular seeds, which may be either 
smooth, or wrinkled. The field pea has hollow, 
sparingly branched stems, two to five feet long 
with leaves bearing two, or three pairs of leaflets, 
one, or two inches long and ending in one or more 
pairs of tendrils and a long median tendril. There 
are present leafy stipules. Two, or more flowers 
are borne in the axils of the leaves on flower 
stalks shorter than the leaves. The legume is 
finally flat, many-seeded and from two to four 
inches long. The seeds are smooth, hard and 
rather, angular and gray-green, gray-yellowish, or 
gray dotted with purple, blue, rust-red, or brownish 
spots. 

Cultivation and Harvesting. — The plant is adapted to growth in 
climates with a cool growing season, as in Canada, Michigan and Wiscon- 
sin. The yield in Canada is from thirty-five to forty bushels and in the 
above states sixteen bushels per acre. Any soil, that will raise oats, will 
raise field peas. Sandy soils are better than clay soils. The pea has a 
high germinating power and will start at quite a low temperature. The 
seeds should be sown, as early, as possible in the spring, and hence, sandy 
soils permit the adoption of this principle of sowing. Peas should be 
sown deeply and broadcast. A disk harrow should be used to cover the 




Pig. 85. — Pods of 
garden pea (Pisum 
sativum). {After Abel, 
Mary H.: Beans, Peas 
and other Legumes as 
Food. Farmers' Bulletin 
121, 1900, p. 13.) 



200 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



seeds, which should be used at the rate of 1.5 to 3.5 bushels per acre. 

Harvesting is difficult, because of the prostrate habit of the plants. They 

may be cut with the ordinary 
mowing machine and raked 
into piles with a sulky rake. 
It is customary to harvest 
when two-thirds of the pods 
are yellow. When dried, the 
hay should be stacked under 
cover, or threshed at once with 
a pea huller. 

Utility. — Peas furnish a 
good food for milk cows, swine, 
sheep, horses and cattle. Peas 
grown with some other kinds of 
grain are of great value as a 
soiling crop. Peas can be used 
as nitrogen gatherers, and 
therefore, for green manure. 
Field peas are treated as a hay 
crop, for the making of silage 
and is a cover crop. The 
Ontario Station after testing 
for six years found a yield of 
28.1 bushels per acre from 
large seed and 23 bushels from 
small seed. 

Cowpea (Vigna sinensis). - 
This plant is related to the 
asparagus bean (Vigna sesqui- 

FiG. 86.— Cowpea {Vigna sinensis) with pods pgddlls^ anj Iq the catjang 

and leaves. (After Mairs, T. J.: Some Soiling .^^. . . ™, ,., 

Crops for Pennyslvania, Bull. 109, Pennsylvania K'^H'^C' catjang). ihe dll- 

State College Agricultural Experiment Station, fercnCCS botanically by which 

1911, p. 7. Oir gin ally on p. 17, U. S. Farmers' ^, . t ,• • i j 

Bulletin 278, 1907.) these species are distmguished 

are comparatively slight, and 
the species are connected through mtermediate varieties. The cow- 
pea (Vigna sinensis) is an annual, prostrate, trailing to half-bushy 
plant having compound trifoliate leaves with broadly ovate leaflets. 




rORAGE PLANTS OF THE FAMILY LEGUMINOS^ 201 

The flowers are white, or pale violet with three bractlets at the base of 
each pedicel, and they are close pollinated, although the flowers are visited 
by honey bees and bumble-bees attracted by the extrafloral nectaries. 
The pods are long, cyhndrical, cuived and usually constricted between the 
many seeds, which are bean-shaped, spotted, marbled and speckled with 
a dark circle around the white hilum. Some of the varieties of the cow- 
pea are Whippoorwill, Wonderful, New Era, Groit, Iron, Clay, Black, 
Taylor and Red Ripper (Fig. 86). 

Utility. — The cowpea is the most common legume planted in the entire 
cotton belt and it can be profitably grown much farther north. It is 
especially suitable for combined hay and seed production, or for hay 
alone, and it is utilized for pasture and as a green manure for soil improve- 
ment. Cowpeas for hay production are grown advantageously in mixture 
with sorghum, Johnson grass, or soy-beans. The yield is thus increased, 
the quality improved, and the curing more easily done. To make good 
cowpea hay requires a careful handling of the crop. The use of a tedder 
is helpful, and the curing is best done in small cocks, and the hay is ready 
for the stack, or barn, when no moisture can be wrung from the stem by 
twisting it with considerable force. Cowpea hay is very nutritious being 
nearly equal to wheat bran as a part of a ration. 

Rotations. — The following rotations have been used in the south 
with good results: cotton three years; com and cowpeas fourth year 
and then cotton again. This is satisfactory for the better soils, but 
for the poorer soils cotton should be planted for only two years. * Wheat, 
or oats, can be grown with cowpeas each season after removal of the grain 
crop. The land is seeded to grain again in the fall, making two crops a 
year from the same land. Cotton, first year; corn and cowpeas, second 
year; winter oats, or wheat followed by cowpeas as a catch crop, third 
year; and then cotton again. The seeds are fed to poultry and are also 
used as a food for man. The roasted seeds form a substitute for coffee. 

Soy [Glycine hispida) is a native of Asia, where it has been grown 
since ancient times in Japan, Korea, Manchuria and China, especially in 
Shansi and Shantung and in India. The chief varieties grown in the 
United States are Ito San, Mammoth, Buckshot, Guelph, Eda, Butterball, 
Kingston, Ogemaw, Samarow and many others which have lately been 
grown. 

Description. — All soy-beans are strictly determinate as to growth, 
reaching a definite size, then mature and die. The plants are erect and 



202 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



branching from a short, strong tap root. The leaves are trifoliate wit 
ovate to lanceolate leaflets to nearly orbicular (Fig. 87). All soy plant 
are hairy with two colors of pubescence, white, or gray and tawny. Th 
flowers are purple and white borne in short axillary racemes with eight t 
sixteen flowers in each cluster. The pods are compressed, borne in clustei 




Pig. 87. — Soy bean (Glycine hispida) with hairy fruit. {After Abel, Mary H.: Bean 
Peas and other Legumes as Food. Farmers' Bulletin 121. 1900, p. 19.) 



of three to five, and are gray or tawny. Gray pods bear white, or grayisl 
hairs and tawny pods have tawny pubescence. Two or three seeds occi 
in each pod, which are readily discharged. The seeds are uniform in colo 
which run through a gamut, as follows: straw-yellow, olive-yellow, oliv( 
green, brown and black. The hilum is pale in some varieties and dar 
in others. 



FORAGE PLANTS OF THE FAMILY LEGUMINOS^ 203 

Cultivation.— Soy-beans will withstand considerable frost, and they 
/ill succeed on nearly all types of soil, but the best crops are obtained in 
, mellow, sandy loam, or clay loam. They make a satisfactory growth 
.n poor soils. The preparation of the soil for the soy-bean is similar to 
hat for corn. The land should be plowed early and deep, and then har- 
owed at intervals until the beans are planted. Under nearly all condi- 
ions, the soy-bean should be planted in rows and cultivated sufficiently 
o keep down the weeds. The yield of seed is always greater, when the soy 
)lant is grown in rows. 

If the conditions are favorable, the soy-bean germinates in a few days 
md cultivation should begin, as soon, as the young plantlet appears. One 
leep cultivation should be given, and after that the cultivations should be 
.hallow. The soy-bean may be used advantageously in many systems of 
i:rop rotations. North of the Ohio River, a rotation of corn, soy-beans, 
A^heat and clover is practised. A soy-bean crop is often grown in North 
CaroHna and Tennessee between two wheat crops, or between two oat 
:rops. It can also be used as a catch crop. Soy-beans are more generally 
^rown with corn than with any other crop. The beans may be planted in 
the same hills with corn in alternate hills with corn in the same row, 
in alternate rows of each, or there may be two rows of each. When grown 
with corn, the crop is generally pastured, or made into ensilage. It is 
a profitable crop when grown for seed, the average yield being about fifteen 
bushels in the northern states to twenty-five bushels in the southern part 
of the cotton belt. 

As the protein content of soy-bean seeds is thirty to forty-six per cent, 
their feeding value is high and can be fed whole to sheep and hogs, or 
used ground for stock feeding and milk production. The total per cent, 
of digestible nutrients of soy-bean seed is 85.9, of this there is 30.7 per 
cent, of protein 22.8 per cent, of carbohydrates and 14.4 per cent, of 

fat. 

Harvesting.— The soy plant, when cut at the right stage of growth, 
makes an excellent hay of high feeding value and this can be used as a 
home-grown crop to replace the high-priced concentrated feeds which 
the farmer finds it necessary to purchase. The plant may be cut for hay 
any time from the setting of the seed until the leaves begin to turn 
yellow. The plants after being cut should remain in the swath until 
they begin to wither and should then be raked into windrows before the 
leaves become dry and brittle and left for a day, or two, when they should 



204 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



be placed in small shocks, or bundles. Later, it should be stacked, oi 
housed. 

Nutritive Value.— The feeding value of soy-bean hay lies in its high 
content of digestible protein. In feeding value, it is superior to cowpeas, 
or red clover, and is equal to alfalfa for milk and butter production. The 
percentage of air dry digestible nutrients is as follows: Total 53.6 per 
cent.; protein 11.7 per cent; 39.2 per cent, of carbohydrates and 1.2 perl 
cent, of fat. The yield of soy-bean hay is from one to three tons to the 




Pig. 88. — Peanut (Arachis hypogaea) with subterranean pods. (After Abel, Mary H.: 
Beans, Peas and other Legutnes as Food. Farmers' Bulletin 121, 1900, p. 16.) 

acre. Soy-beans can be used for ensilage, for pasture and for soiUng 
purposes. 

Human Food. — The soy-bean is one of the most important human 
foods in China and Japan where it is used by the coolie class in place of 
meat to overcome a too exclusive diet of rice. The dried beans are used 
in the manufacture of soy sauce, vegetable milk from which can be ob- 
tained cheese, confections and casein. The oil extracted from the seeds 
may be used in the production of glycerin, enamels, varnish, paints, 



FORAGE PLANTS OF THE FAMILY LEGUMINOS^ 205 

linoleums, soap stock, as a substitute for butter, lard and salad oils. The 
green beans can be canned, or used as a green vegetable. 

Peanut {Arachis hypogaea).— The ground nut, or goober, is an annual 
semi-ei^ect, or trailing plant with stems one to two feet long, branching 
and hairy. The leaves are pinnately compound usually with two pairs 
of subsessile entire leaflets and no tendrils. The stipules are linear-lan- 
ceolate and adherent to the base of the petiole. The flowers are axillary, 
sessile and orange-yellow in color (Fig. 88). Two forms of flowers occur 
on the same plant. The larger, more terminal ones are usually sterile, 
while the axial are more numerous, smaller and usually fertile. The 
flowers have ten monadelphous stamens. The gynophore, geotropic in 
reaction, elongates after flowering and fertilization, and carries downward 
the developing ovary until it is buried in the ground, where it matures 
into an indehiscent pod with a reticulated surface (Fig. 88). The shell is 
the pericarp, the thin skin surrounding the seeds is the testa or outer seed 
coat. The cotyledons are large and full of stored food. If the ovary is 
not buried underground, it fails to develop. The varieties cultivated in 
America may be divided into the large-podded, or jumbo peanuts, Vir- 
ginia Bunch, Virginia Runner, Dixie Giant and the Spanish, African and 
Tennessee Red, which are small-podded. The main types may again be 
subdivided into the bush and the running kinds. 

Seeding and Cultivation.— A good grade of seed should alone be used 
in planting peanuts in the spring after the soil has become warm, and 
therefore, a trifle later than corn. Thirty six inches should be left be- 
tween the rows. As a rule, one and a half pecks of shelled Virginia pea- 
nut should be used to plant an acre, or one and a quarter bushels, if 
planted inclosed in the shell. On heavy soils, three fourths to one inch 
and a quarter will be sufiicient depth to plant the seeds, while on light, 
sandy soils one inch and a half to two inches may not be too deep. Culti- 
vation of the peanut crop should begin immediately after planting and 
continue until the vines occupy the ground. Frequent shallow cultiva- 
tion will keep the soil loose and prevent the loss of moisture. After the 
peanuts begin to "peg," or form pods, they should not be disturbed, or 
given cultivation. Most implements used in cultivating corn, or cotton 
will be found suitable for the peanut crop. The crop should be dug before 
the first frost, as if deferred too long, the first-formed pods are likely to 
Imrst their shells and start growing. Usually the peanuts are plowed 
from the ground with a one-horse turning plow and afterward separated 



2o6 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

from the soil by hand. After the peanut vines are loosened from the 
soil, they are allowed to remain on the ground for three, or four hours, 
when they are put in small stacks around a central stake to cure. After 
the peanuts have cured in the stacks from four to six weeks, those intended 
for feeding stock may be placed in barns. Peanuts for market should be 
cured in the stack at least three, or four weeks before picking. They 
should not be picked from the vines until the pods have become dry and 
the peanuts firm and nutty, when they are picked by hand. Machines 
have lately been used for picking. After picking, the peanuts should be 
kept dry and never exposed to wet conditions, as the shells invariably 
become discolored. The nuts are prepared for market by the removal of 
all dirt and the separation of nuts into their respective grades. 

Nutritive Value. — The peanut is a valuable human food and is sold in 
large quantities either roasted in the shell at so much per pound, or bag, 
or shelled and salted in the penny slot machine. Peanut candies and brittle 
also consume considerable quantities of the hulled seeds, and the manu- 
facture of peanut butter and peanut meal an additional amount. Ameri- 
cans are only beginning to learn what may be done with this valuable 
plant, as a source of human food. There has arisen during recent years a 
demand for peanut oil for edible purposes, either as a dressing for salads 
or in the manufacture of oleomargarine, or in the packing of sardines 
Low grade oils are used in the manufacture of soap. Peanut hay contains 
11.75 Psr cent, of protein, 46.95 per cent, of carbohydrates and 1.84 per 
cent, of fat. The peanut is a valuable feed for use in preparing hogs for 
market. Peanut vines are used for feeding stock and yield a very 
desirable class of forage. 

Miscellaneous Leguminous Forage Plants 

The activity of the United States Department of Agriculture especially 
the Bureau of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction has resulted in the 
introduction, trial and establishment of a number of additional plants of 
the leguminous family. A detailed account of these would enlarge uaduly 
the size of this book, and hence only a brief reference' to these plants will 
be made. Of the beans belonging to the genus P/taseolus, we have the 
kidney, or haricot bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) a native American plant, 
whose use was learned from the Indians. Large quantities of this bean are 
consumed as human food. The Lima bean is P. lunatus. It is likewise 



FORAGE PLANTS OF THE FAMILY LEGUMINOS^ 



207 



consumed as a human food. The scarlet runner bean {Phaseolus muUi- 
fiorus) is a strong-growing climbing plant used for decorative purposes 
on account of its cluster of bright colored blossoms. The tepiary {Pha- 
seolus acutifolins) is a newly recognized bean domesticated by the pre- 
historic tribes of the southwestern United States and Mexico. Among 
the food plants of secondary importance in different parts of Asia are 
five annual species of beans that at various times have been introduced into 
the United States, but concerning which very httle definite information 




Fig. 89. — Outline map of the United States, showing the regions to which toothed 
bui clover (Medicago denlicv,lala) and spotted bur clover {Medicago arabica) are adopted. 
{Piper, C. V. and McKee, R.: Bur Clover. Fanners' Bulletin 693, 1915, p- 5.) 

has been published. These five are the ad^uki bean {Phaseolus angularis), 
the rice bean {Phaseolus calcaratus) , the mung bean {Phaseolus aureus), 
the urd {Phaseolus mungo) and the moth bean {Phaseolus aconitif alius) . 
The sprouted mung beans are used as one of the chief constituents of 
ordinary chop suey, served in Chinese restaurants in the United States. 
There are two kinds of bur clover cultivated in the United States, (Fig 
8g), namely, the spotted, or southern bur clover {Medicago arabica) and 
the toothed, or California bur clover {Medicago hispidula denticulaia) (Fig. 
90). These are used as cover crops, for soil renovation, for pasture and 
hay. The horse, broad, or Windsor bean {Vicia jaba) is one of the oldest 



208 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



cultivated plants in Europe, and elsewhere, but of minor importance in the 
United States, used as human food, and as a valuable stock feed (Figs. 91 
and 92). The Japan clover {Lespedeza striata) was introduced from China, 




Fig. 90. — Bur clover with prickly pods {Medicago denticulala) . (After Ball, Carle- 
Ion, R.: Winter Forage Crops for the South. Farmers' Bulletin 147, 1902, p. 28; upper 
figures of pods from Piper, C. V. and McKee, R.: Bur Clover. Farmers' Bulletin 693, 
1915, p. 4.) 



or Japan into the South Atlantic states, where it is grown for hay and 
pasture. Sainfoin {Onohrychis vicicBfolia) was introduced from Asia, but 
is little grown here. The serradella {Ornithopus sativus) is successful on 



FORAGE PLANTS OF THE PAMILY LEGUMINOSiE 



209 



thin soils and makes good hay. The velvet bean (Mucuna utilis) is one 
of the most exacting members of the leguminous family as regards tem- 




FiG. 91. — Broad, or Windsor bean (Viciafaba). {After Abel, Mary H.: Beans, Peas 
and other Legumes as Food. Farmers' Bulletin 121, 1900, p. 6.) 



perature, and hence, its growth is confined to Florida and the Gulf coast, 
where it is used as a green manure and as a forage crop (Fig. 93). Many 
of the species of vetch have been more or less extensively cultivated, and 



2IO 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



several others growing wild are used for hay, or pasturage, or in a few 
cases the seeds are used as human foods. The cultivated kinds include 




Fk;. 92. — Flower of Lcguminosee. A, floral diagram of Vicia faba; B, sweet pea 
flower, dissected, diagrammatic. {A , Robbins after Eichler, B after Bergen and Caldwell.) 




Fig. 93. — Map of the southeastern United States, showing the distribution of 
velvet beans. {After Tracy, S. M. and Coe. H. S.: Farmers' Bulletin, 962, 1918, />. 13.) 

the following: common vetch, or tares {Vicia sativa), hairy, sand, or Rus- 
sian vetch (Vicia villosa), (Fig. 94), bitter vetch {Vicia ervilia), scarlet 
vetch (Vicia fulgens), purple vetch (Vicia atro purpurea), Narbonne vetch 



FORAGE PLANTS OF THE FAMILY LEGUMINOS^ 211 

{Vicia narbonnensis) , narrow-leaved Y&ich {Vic ia angustifolia) . Hairy 
vetch {Vicia villosa) is adapted to nearly as wide a range of uses as red 
clover, and in regions where red clover for any reason does not succeed, it is 
the best substitute. It makes excellent hay, though it is rather difficult 
to mow. It furnishes pasturage of high quality and may be grazed in the 




Fig. 94. — Hairy vetch {Vicia villosa). {After Mairs, T. I.: Some Soiling Crops for 
Pennslyvania, Bull. 109, Pennsylvania State College Agricultural Experiment Station, 
1911, p. II.) 

spring without reducing the hay crop. As a winter cover crop, it gives 
satisfaction, if sown early, but it makes a slower growth in cold weather 
than common vetch. It has been found to be the best winter green man- 
ure and cover crop for tobacco fields in the Connecticut Valley. The 
chick-pea {Cicer arietinum) is grown in Europe, Asia and Mexico for its 



212 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

seeds, which are used for both stock and human food. The herbage is 
unfit for stock because of a poisonous principle. The fenugreek (Trigo- 
nella fcemim-groecum) is grown principally for its seeds, which have medici- 
nal properties and the plants are used as a green manure for orchards. 

Additional Leguminous Forage Plants. — In addition to the above the 
following leguminous forage plants are noteworthy: shaftal (Trifolium 
suaveoletts) berseem {Trifolium alexandrinum) , yellow trefoil (Medicago 
lupulina), Dakota vetch (Hosackia amerkana), chickling vetch (Lathyrus 
sativtts), bird vetch (Vicia cracca), square pod pea {Lathyrus tetragono- 
lobus), Florida beggar- weed {DesmodiMn tortuosum), bonavist, or hya- 
cinth bean {Dolichos lablah), guar {Cyamopsis tetragonoloha), kudzu 
{Pueraria thunbergiana); kidney vetch {AnthylUs vulneraria), sulla 
{Hedysarum toronarium), goat's rue {Galega officinalis), bird's foot trefoil 
{Lotus cornioulatus) , furze (Ulex europcem). 

Miscellaneous Forage Plants 

There is a considerable number of forage plants other than the 
grasses and leguminous species used as food for cattle. They are used 
incidentally, as occasional, or additional forage plants, or as emergency 
feeds in the absence, or scarcity, of the leguminous and graminaceous 
species, which alone are worth cultivating. Some of these miscellaneous 
herbs used as forage are here enumerated. 

Prickly Pear {Opuntia spp.). — A variety of the fleshy, spiny cacti 
all natives of the arid regions of the west are used as forage. The practice 
has been to burn off the spines, as they are injurious and to feed the fleshy 
joints to stock. Recently an attempt has been made by Burbank and 
other plant breeders to select and propagate in field culture a spineless 
cactus, so as to overcome the objectionable spines in the unselected kinds. 
Prickly pears are readily eaten by cattle, hogs, sheep and goats. 

Australian Saltbush {Atriplex semibaccata) . — This plant from the 
alkali lands of Australia has been introduced into the United States as 
a forage for sheep. 

It has become naturalized in California, but in general, it has proved 
disappointing in this country. 

Sachalin {Polygonum saohalinense) . — This tall, rapidly growing 
plant was introduced from the Island of Saghalin about 1893, as a forage 
plant. It produces an abundance of herbage, readily eaten by cattle, but 



FORAGE PLANTS OF THE FAMILY LEGUMINOS^ 213 

its rapid, weedy growth, woody stems and persistence in cultivated fields 
renders it objectionable as a forage plant. 

Spurrey (Spergula sativa). — This plant was cultivated as early as 1566 
in Europe as a forage plant. It has been used as a catch crop and on the 
sandy soils of Europe, its growth is rapid. It is looked upon in Europe 
as a valuable crop, but has not been used generally in America. 

Mexican Clover {Richardsonia scabra). — ^This rubiaceous annual is 
native to Mexico coming up in cultivated land in spring and forming a 
dense herbage under favorable conditions. It is, when cured, readily 
eaten by farm animals. 

Sunflower {Helianthus annuus). — Sunflowers are grown in Kansas 
and elsewhere in the west for their seeds, which form an important poultry 
feed and for oil production. 

Artichoke {Helianthus tuber osus). — The tubers of this sunflower are 
chopped up and form one of the most useful feeds for hogs during the 
winter months. 

Bumet {Sanguisorba minor). — This deep-rooted, European perennial 
is used as a pasture plant in England and France, but in America, it has 
not been found sufficiently valuable to justify cultivation. 

Rib-grass {Plantago lanceolata). — This European weed is common 
everywhere in America, and is looked upon as a troublesome plant in 
alfalfa and red clover fields, but its leaves are readily eaten by sheep and 
cattle, when cured into hay. It may prove useful as a pasture plant for 
thin, stony soils. 

Prickly Comfrey (Symphytum asperrimum). — This perennial herb came 
from the Caucasus region. It has been raised in England as a green 
forage for cows, hogs and sheep, but has not been used much in America. 

Emergency Feeds. — In the scarcity of the usual forage plants on the 
western and stock ranges, it has been the practice to feed native desert 
species in the chopped-up condition to stock. The following plants have 
been found useful in tiding over the period of forage scarcity: soap weed 
{Yucca elata), bear-grass (Yucca glauca), sotol {Dasylirion texanum, D. 
Wheeleri), lechuguila {Agave lechuguila) and nolina {Nolina erumpens 
and N. microcarpa). As feed, they are of low value, but will keep 
stock from starving. 

General Bibliography 

A Virginia Farmer. Roman Farm Management. The Treatises of Cato and Varro 
done into English with Notes of Modern Instances. New York, The MacMillan 
Company, 19 13. 



214 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

Gardner, Frank D.: Successful Farming. Philadelphia, John C. Winston Company, 

1916. 
Griffiths, David: Prickly Pear as Stock Feed. Farmers' Bulletin 1072, March, 

1920. 
Hall, A. D.: The Book of Rothamstcd Experiments. New York, E. P. Dutton and 

Company, 1905, 
Hall, A. D.: A Pilgrimage of British Farming, 1910-1912. New York, E. P. Dutton 

and Company, 1913. 
Henry, W. A. and Morrison, F. B.: Feeds and Feeding, a Handbook for the Student 

and Stockman. Madison, Wisconsin, The Henrj^-Morrison Company, 1915. 
Hunt, Thomas F.:The Forage and Fiber Crops in America. New York, Orange, 

Judd Company, 191 2. 
King, F. H.: Farmers of Forty Centuries, China, Korea, Japan? Madison, Wisconsin, 

Mrs. King, 1911. 
Piper, Charles V.: Forage Plants and Their Culture. New York, The MacMillan 

Company, 1914. 
Robbins, Wilfred W. : The Botany of Crop Plants. Philadelphia, P. Blakiston's 

Son & Co., 1917. 

Bulletins and Other Publications Arranged by Crops 

Alfalfa 

Brand, Charles J.: Peruvian Alfalfa: A new Long-season Variety for the Southwest. 
Bulletin 118, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1907; 
Grimm Alfalfa and its Utilization in the Northwest. Bulletin 209, Bureau of 
Plant Industry, 1911; with L. R. Waldron: Cold Resistance of Alfalfa and some 
Factors Influencing It. Bulletin 185, Bureau of Plant Industry, 1910. 

Brown, Edgar: Alfalfa Seed. Farmers' Bulletin 194, U. S. Department of Agri- 
culture, 1904. 

Doyle, H. W.: Alfalfa in Kansas. Report Kansas State Board of Agriculture for the 
Quarter Ending June, 19x6. 

Drake, J. A., Rundles, J. C. and Jennings, Ralph D.: Alfalfa on Corn-belt Farms. 
Farmers' Bulletin 102 1, U. S. Department Agriculture, 1919. 

FoRTiER, Samuel: Irrigation of Alfalfa. Farmers' Bulletin 373, U. S. Department of 
Agriculture, 1909; Farmers' Bulletin 868, 1917. 

Hansen, N. E.: The Wild Alfalfas and Clovers of Siberia, with a Perspective View of 
the Alfalfas of the World. Bulletin 150, Bureau of Plant Industry, 1909. 

Hitchcock, A. S.: Alfalfa Growing. Farmers' Bulletin 215, 1905. 

McKee, Roland: Nonperennial Medicagos; the Agronomic Value and Botanical 
Relationship of the Species. Bulletin 267, Bureau of Plant Industry, 1913. 

Oakley, R. A. and Westover, H. L,: Commercial Varieties of Alfalfa. Farmers' 
Bulletin 757, 1916. 

Olfver, George W.: Some New Alfalfa Varieties for Pastures. Bulletin 258, Bureau 
of Plant Industry, 1913. 



FORAGE PLANTS OF THE FAMILY LEGUMINOS^ 21 5 

Piper, C. V.: Alfalfa See(M*roduction : Pollination Studies. Bulletin 75, U. S. De- 
partment of Agriculture, 1914. 

ScoFiELD, Carl S.: The Botanical History and Classification of Alfalfa. Bulletin 131, 
Part II, Bureau of Plant Industry. 1908. 

Smith, Jarf.d G.; Alfalfa or Lucern. Farmers' Bulletin' 31, 1895. 

Westgate, J. M.: Alfalfa. Farmers' Bulletin 339, 1908; Variegated Alfalfa. Bulletin 
169, Bureau of Plant Industry, 1910. 

Westgate, J. M., McKee, Roland and Evans, M. W.: Alfalfa Seed Production. 
Farmers' Bulletin 495, 191 2. 

Red Clover 

Brown, Edgar and Hillman, F. H. : Seed of Red Clover and Its Impurities. Farmers 
Bulletin 260, 1906. 

McDermott, Laura Frances: An Illustrated Key to the North American Species of 
Trifolium. San Francisco, Cunningham, Curtiss, Welch, 1910. 

Shaw, Thomas: Clovers and How to Grow Them. New York, Orange Judd Com- 
pany, 1906. 

Smith, C. Beaman: Clover Farming on the Sandy Jack-pine Sands of the North. 
Farmers' Bulletin 323, 1908. 

Westgate, J. M. and Hillman, F. H.: Red Clover. Farmers' Bulletin 455, 1911. 

Westgate, J. M. and Others: Red-clover Seed Production: Pollination Studies. 
Bulletin 289, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1915. 

Crimson Clover 

Westgate, J. M.: Crimson Clover. Growing the Crop. Farmers' Bulletin 550, 
1913; Crimson Clover. Utilization. Farmers' Bulletin 579, 1914. 

Sweet Clover 

Coe, H. S.: Sweet Clover. Growing the Crop. Farmers' Bulletin 797, 191 7; Sweet 
Clover. Utilization. Farmers' Bulletin 820, 191 7; Sweet Clover Harvesting and 
Thrashing the Seed Crop. Farmers' Bulletin 836, 191 7. 

Drake, J. A. and Rundles, J. C: Sweet Clover on Corn Belt Farms. Farmers' 
Bulletin 1005, 1919. 

Westgate, J. M. and Vinall, H. N.: Sweet Clover. Farmers' Bulletin 485, 191 2. 

Field Peas 

Shaw, Thomas: Canadian Field Peas. Farmers' Bulletin 224, 1905. 

Vinall, H. N. : The Field Pea as a Forage Crop. Farmers' Bulletin 690, 1915. 

Cow Peas 

Nielsen, H. T.: Cowpeas. Farmers' Bulletin 318, 1908. 

Piper, C. V.: Agricultural Varieties of the Cowpea and immediately Related Species. 

Bulletin 229, Bureau of Plant Industry, 1912. 
Smith, Jaked G.: Cowpeas. Farmers' Bulletin 89, 1899. 



2l6 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

Soy-beans ^ 

Morse, W. J.: Harvesting Soy-bean Seed. Farmers' Bulletin 886, 191 7; The Soy- 

Bean: its Culture and Uses. Farmers' Bulletin 973, 1918. 
Piper, C. V. and Morse, W. J.: The Soy Bean: History, Varieties and Field Studies. 

Bulletin 197, Bureau of Plant Industry, 1910. 
Piper, C. V. and, Nielsen, H. T.: Soy-Beans. Farmers' Bulletin 372, 1909. 
Williams, Thomas A.: Soy-Beans as a Forage Crop. Also Longworthy, C. F.: Soy- 

Beans as Food for Man. Farmers' Bulletin 58, 1897. 

Peanuts 
Beattie, W. R.: Peanuts. Farmers' Bulletin 356, 1909; The Peanut. Farmers' 

Bulletin 431, 1911. 
Ed. Groundnuts. Gardeners' Chronicle, new ser., xiv, 293, September 4, 1880. 
Handy, R. B.: Peanuts: Culture and Uses. Farmers' Bulletin 25, 1895. 
Thompson, H. C. and Bailey, H. S.: Peanut Oil. Farmers' Bulletin 751, 1916. 
Waldron, Ralph A.: The Peanut, its History, Histology, Physiology and Utility. 

Contributions Botanical Laboratory, University of Pennsylvania, iv, 301-338, 

1919. 

Miscellaneous Forage Plants 

Abel, Mary Hinman: Beans, Peas and other Legumes as Food. Farmers' Bulletin 

121, 1900. 
Ball, Carleton R.: Winter Forage Crops for the South. Farmers' Bulletin 147, 

1902. 
Cook, O. F.: Olneya Beans. A Native Food Product of the Arizona Desert. Journal 

of Heredity, x, 321-331, October, 1919. 
CoRBETT, L. C: Beans. Farmer's Bulletin 289, 1907. 

Piper, C. V.: Kudzu, Circular 89, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1920. 
Piper, C. V. and Morse, W. J.: Five Oriental Species of Beans. Bulletin 119, U. S. 

Department of Agriculture, 1914. 
Piper, C. V. and McKee, Roland: Bur Clover. Farmers' Bulletin 693, 1915; Vetches. 

Farmers' Bulletin 515, 191 2. 
McKee, Roland: Purple Vetch. Farmers' Bulletin 967, 1918; Horse Beans, Farmers' 

Bulletin 969, 1918. 
McNair, A. D. and Mercier, W. B.: Lespedeza, or Japan Clover. P'armers' Bulletin 

441, 191X. 
Norton, J. B. S. and Walls, E. P.: The Wild Legumes of Maryland and their 

Utilization. Bulletin 100, Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station, 97-124, 

March, 1905. 
Smith, A. G.: Vetch Growing in the South Atlantic States. Farmers' Bulletin 529, 

1913- 
Tracy, S. M. and Coe, H. S. : Velvet Beans. Farmers' Bulletin 962, 1918. 

Miscellaneous Non-leguminous Plants 
FoRSLiNG, C. L.: Chopped Soapweed as Emergency Feed for Cattle on Southwestern 
Ranges. Bulletin 745, U. S. Department of Agriculture. 



FORAGE PLANTS OF THE FAMILY LEGUMINOS^ 217 

Griffiths, David: The Prickly Pear and other Cacti as Food for Stock. Bulletin 74, 
Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1905; The Prickly 
Pear as a Farm Crop. Bulletin 124, Bureau of Plant Industry. 

Kennedy, P. Beveridge: Salt Bushes. Farmers' Bulletin 108, U. S. Department of 
Agriculture, 1900. 

Lamson-Scribner, F.: Southern Forage Plants. Farmers' Bulletin 102, 1899. 

McKee, Roland: AustraUan Salt Bush. Bulletin 617, U. S. Department of Agri- 
culture, 1919. 

Piper, Charles V.: Forage Plants and Their Culture. New York, The MacMillan 
Company, 19 14. 

WooTON, E. O.: Certain Desert Plants as Emergency Stock Feed. Bulletin 728, U. S. 
Department of Agriculture, 1918. 

Laboratory Work 

Suggestion to Teachers. — The suggestions that have been made for the provision 
of alcoholic, dried and living material for the prosecution of the laboratory work con- 
nected with this chapter holds good. The teacher should provide dried plants of alfalfa, 
red clover, crimson clover, alsike clover, white clover, sweet clover, cowpeas, soy- 
beans and peanuts for a detailed study by the class. Fresh peanuts can always be 
had during the winter months. If the institution is provided with greenhouse facilities 
some of the clovers can be transplanted to flats in the greenhouses during the summer, 
while cowpeas, soy-beans and peanuts are easily grown in pots, especially the plants 
which in the absence of a greenhouse can be grown to the development of mature 
fruits in a warm sunny window of an ordinarily heated house. Dried specimens of 
the fruits and seeds of each of these plants and of the rarer kinds should be kept for 
class demonstration. Charts, maps of distribution, book illustrations, lantern slides 
and moving picture films of field operations should be collected by the larger and 
better endowed institutions. There can be no limit to the different plants used in 
connection with the subject matter of this chapter in any part of the world. The 
abundant plants of the locality should be utilized. 

Laboratory Exercises 

1. Draw and describe the alfalfa plants, or any of the above mentioned plants, 
in all of their parts and make floral diagrams and dissections of the seeds of these 
important plants. 

2. A similar study should be made of the red clover, crimson clover, white clover, 
cowpea, soy-bean and peanut, or any available leguminous crop plant. All of them, if 
time permits. 

3. Study in detail the fruits and seeds of alfalfa, red clover and peanut, etc. Sec- 
tions of swollen seeds should be treated with iodine solution and other reagents, as 
time permits. 

4. The members of the class should be instructed to plant unroasted peanuts in 
pots at home, as the growth of the plant can be watched with great interest and in- 
struction to the students, who undertake to do this. 



CHAPTER 1 6 

LEGUMINOUS ROOT TUBERCLES AND THE ACCUMULATION 
OF NITROGEN; NITROGEN-CONSUMING PLANTS 

Loss of Soil Nitrogen. — It is important before considering the accumu- 
lation of soil nitrogen, to briefly state how the soil may lose this valuable 
chemical substance. The nitrogen in the form of ammonia gas may be 
diffused into the atmosphere, and there is no doubt, but that a very con- 
siderable amount of nitrogen is thus dissipated. The soluble ammonia, 
nitrites and nitrates may be removed from the superficial layers of the 
soil by drainage into the subsoil, where they usually find their way by 
percolation of rain-water from above. This loss by drainage is greatest 
during the late summer and autumn, when the process of nitrification is 
excessive. This process of nitrification in soils is preceded by putrefac- 
tion where the organic materials of the soil are broken down by bacteria 
and fungi into various end products among them ammonia, which is also 
formed by the fermentation of the urine of herbivorous animals, according 
to the reaction: 

CO(NH2)2 + 2H2O = C03(NH4)2 

Nc less than sixty species of bacteria are said to occur in manure and sew- 
age and a considerable number are able to cause the ammoniacal fermen- 
tation of urine. 

Nitrification. — Now an entirely different set cf organisms come into 
play. The ammonia is converted by the activity of several species of 
Nitrosococcus and Niirosomonas into nitrous acid, or the corresponding 
nitrite. The next step in the process of nitrification is the conversion of 
nitrous acid, or nitrite, into nitric acid, or the corresponding nitrate. 
This is accomplished by the nitrate bacteria {NitrobaUer), which con- 
vert the nitrous acid or nitrite into nitric acid, or nitrate. 

Here, we have the explanation why Indian corn does not exhaust the 
soil, as rapidly, as some other crops. The growth of corn extending much 
further into the late summer and autumn, the plant acts as a catch crop 
in the utilization of part of the nitrates formed during the active processes 
of nitrification. 

218 



LEGUMINOUS ROOT TUBERCLES 219 

In the third place, the nitrogen is lost to the soil by a chemical union 
with other soil substances, so as to form insoluble compounds which are, 
therefore, unavailable to the growing crops. The loss may also be ac- 
complished by denitrification, which is due to the presence in the soil of 
nitrate-reducing bacteria, which are active, when the soil is wet with 
standing water and the oxygen supply is poor. Perhaps, the largest 
amount of nitrogen is removed from the soil in the harvesting and sale of 
the crops. These harvested crops are carried to our large centers of 
population, or sent overseas where they are lost, as far, as returning man- 
urial equivalents to the soil of the country in which they were produced, is 
concerned. Crooks estimates that England alone wastes in the sewage 
and drainage of her cities, nitrogen to the value of $80,000,000 per year. 
Hence in the husbanding of our natural resources, the sewage from oui 
large cities should be saved. It is so saved in China and Japan, but the 
sewage farms, which have been tried, American and European, have not 
been profitable, hence, the whole matter of sewage disposal by sediment 
alone and by the septic tank is still open for exhaustive scientific research. 
Connected with this disposal of sewage, horse and cattle manures is the 
management of home and local markets, where the produce of our 
farms might be utilized and the waste products, where suitable, might 
be returned to the soil. 

Having briefly outlined the ways in which the soil becomes impover 
ished, it is important clearly to state how the nitrogen of the soil may be 
accumulated. One of the most important sources of supply is barnyard 
manure, which contains large quantities of ammonia, but that ammonia 
cannot be absorbed directly by the root hairs of the agricultural plants. 
We have abundant experimental proof that green plants, except the 
Leguminosae, can utilize the nitrogen only in the form of nitrates, or only 
to a very shght extent in the form of ammoniates. We have noticed 
how this process of nitrification takes place in two steps by the activity 
of nitrifying bacteria, whose growth in the soil is stimulated by aeration, 
by the requisite moisture and a feeble alkaline condition of the soil. Once 
the ammonia is converted into, nitrates, the supphes of nitrogen in the 
soil become available to green plants. Many plants are independent of 
this supply of nitrogen in the form of nitrates, viz., the Leguminosa and 
perhaps some few members of the families Betulaceae, Eleagnaceae and 
Podocarpaceae, which can utilize free atmospheric nitrogen. 



2 20 PASTOKAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

Nitrogen-Storing Plants. — We have, therefore, two classes of agri- 
cultural plants: nitrogen-storing plants and nitrogen- consuming plants. 
The nitrogen-storing plants are those which can utihze the free atmospher- 
ic nitrogen. These plants, if the soil is rich in nitrogen, or if the nodules 
do not form on their roots, become as ordinary nitrogen-consuming plants, 
i.e., they require nitrogen. When the seeds of clover, or some other legu- 
minous species are planted, soon after the primary roots appear with their 
root hairs, the nodule producing organisms {Bacillus (Pseud omonas) 
radicicola) attracted perhaps chemotactically to the fine root hairs, pene- 
trate the walls of these root hairs and enter through these cells into the mid- 
dle cortex layers of the root. So many organisms enter, that they form a 
long, slimy cord, almost hypha like. Here in the root cortex cells, the 
microorganisms form nests, or pockets, that become filled with bacteria. 
The presence of these rod-shaped bacteria causes the formation of swell- 
ings, galls, tubercles, or nodules on the roots of the leguminous plants. 
Here they remain, utilizing the free atmospheric nitrogen, when stimulated 
by small amounts of carbohydrates, derived from the green host plant 
until about the time of flowering of the host, when the bacteria begin 
to undergo involution changes, enlarging considerably in size and assum- 
ing S-shaped, or Y-shaped forms (bacteroids). After this, they are gradu- 
ally absorbed by the green plants until the tubercle becomes empty — a 
mere shell. The nitrogenous material has been dissolved and utilized by 
the leguminous plant in the formation of plant substance, or in the form of 
reserve food within seeds and other parts of the green host. 

T3rpes of Leguminous Nodules. — Although the organism is the same in 
all leguminous plants, viz. Bacillus radicicola, it exists in varietal forms, 
which are peculiar to each of the important species of leguminosae being, 
therefore, polymorphic, although occasional cross inoculations occur (Fig. 
95). A recent study of a large number of genera of leguminous plants by 
Spratt has shown that there are four general types of tubercles: I. The 
Gehisteae type in which the nodule is primarily spherical, with a spherical 
meristern outside the bacteroidal tissue, which becomes localized at certain 
parts, and thus the nodule acquires a very uneven surface and shape. The 
vascular supply forms one broad zone across the base of the nodule, which 
subsequently branches and produces a varying number of strands. The 
bacteroidal tissue becomes separated into a number of distinct areas 
with a varying amount of sterile tissue between. Plants with this type 
of nodules are woody. Many are shrubs, e.g., Genista, Ulex, Amorpha; 



LEGUMINOUS ROOT TUBERCLES 221 

some are herbs Lupinus, Ornithopus, Cytisus, Desmodium and Laburnum 
is a tree. II. The Phaseoleae and Trifoleae type with the bacteroidal 
tissue undivided and central. The growing point at an early stage 
becomes localized apically, consequently they elongate although re- 
maining very narrow, e.g., Trifolimn, and frequently the apical meristem 




Fig. 95. — Roots of soy bean, showing nodules. (After Piper, C. V.: Leguminous Crops 
for Green Manuring. Farmers' Bulletin 278, 1907, p. 20.) 

branches, so that a repeatedly branched nodule may result, e.g., Lotus 
corniculatus. Here belong nodules of Trifolium, Phaseolus, Coronilla, 
Lotus, Ononis, Anthyllis. III. In the Viceae type, the nodules have the 
elongated form with a well defined apical meristem and a basal intercalary 
zone, which produces a small amount of tissue. The nodule frequently 



222 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

branches and may form very large clusters, e.g., Vicia faba and Stizo- 
lobiiim, but there is one continuous bacteroidal zone, the apical portions 
of which are traversed by innumerable infection threads. Two vascular 
strands are produced at a very early stage of the development of the no- 
dule on opposite sides, each of which has a separate attachment to the root 
stele. This group includes a number of plants of considerable agricul- 
tural value viz., Vicia, Pisuni, Lathyrus,Galega, Stizololium, and Col idea. 
IV. The fourth group of nodules occur on plants such as Robinia, Sophora, 
Acacia, of west temperate and subtropical regions. The nodules all 
develop two vascular strands, which have a separate attachment to the 
root bundle system and a well developed bundle sheath is present. In 
Acacia, the nodule is bean-shaped," in Sophora and Robinia, the nodule 
is transversely indented, the indentations occurring between two periods 
of growth. This is the Mimosoideae type. 

The amount of nitrogen which is fixed by Bacillus radicicola has been 
thought to be connected with the quantity of slime which is produced under 
given conditions. If the formation of slime is great in amount the 
bacteria are held in it and form a zoogleal thread. It is in this form, 
that they enter the root hairs and passing from cell to cell finally reach 
the root cortex. The sHme is absorbed and the bacteria live freely in 
the cell, being transformed into, the so-called bacteroids, which are V and 
Y shaped in such plants as Vicia faba, or spherical as in Lotus corniculutus. 
These it is believed are gradually absorbed by the plant. Recently, Erwin 
F. Smith has called in question many of the accepted theories as to the 
leguminous nodules, and he cites Gino-de-Rossi, who maintains that a 
schizomycete of quite different character is the real cause of the nodules. 
We have given the usually accepted views without presenting the con- 
troversial points. 

Leaf Nodules of Rubiaceae. — Recently attention has been called to 
certain rubiaceous plants P^ycAo/na bacteriophila and Pavetta Zimmerman- 
niana and probably others, which have small nodules on their leaves, 
which contain colonies of a non-motile, nitrogen-fixing bacterium named 
by Faber My co-bacterium rubiacearum. These bacteria almost invariably 
inhabit the micropyle of the young seed, and, when the latter germinates, 
grow through certain stomata of the young leaves and into the inter- 
cellular spaces formed in the leaf-tissues around these stomata. Cavities 
are formed through the growth of the epidermal cells which later close 
entirelv and make bacterial nodules which are deeply imbedded in the 



LEGUMINOUS ROOT TUBERCLES 223 

leaf tissues. A single leaf may have several dozen of these symbiotic 
bacterial nodules. Faber has shown that the leaves of these rubiaceous 
plants through the presence of the nodules containing bacteria are able 
to gather nitrogen like the legumes and store it in the small nodules. 
As the value of the leaves of these plants in agricultural operations in the 
tropics has been recognized in India, it has been suggested that these 
nitrogen-storing members of the Rubiace(B might be grown as subsidiary 
crops beneath rubber, cocoa and coflfee trees and their leaves allowed to 
accumulate on the ground to serve as a mulch and as a nitrogenous 
fertilizer. It might be possible to prune the trees and use the clippings 
as fertilizer. 

Use as Green Manure. — ^When the leguminous crop is mature, or 
before it is mature, it may be plowed under as green manure. Here 
in the soil by the process of putrefaction already described, the organic 
nitrogen of the plant is converted into a form of nitrogen which through the 
nitrifying bacteria is again converted into a form (nitrate) available to 
another crop of green plants. Thus the nitrogen cycle is completed. 
Or, if the leguminous crop is not used as a green manure, but is consumed, 
it should be used on the farm and not sold off the farm, because transformed 
by passing through the bodies of the farm animals, it becomes flesh on the 
one hand and barnyard manure on the other, which can be restored to 
the soil to help keep up its fertility. 

Rotations. — One of the approved methods of agricultural practice is 
to grow leguminous crops for home consumption, and the non-leguminous, 
nitrogen-consuming crops for sale. One practical farmer grows mixed 
crops of leguminous plants, liberally fertilized with potash and phosphoric 
acid. He converts the first year's crop into silage, which he feeds to 
his cattle, returning the manure to his soil. He converts the second 
year's produce into hay. The land thus produces highly nitrogenous 
crops without purchasing outside supplies of expensive nitrogenous fer- 
tilizers, and is left in a high state of fertility for potatos or cereal crops 
which respond to rich supplies of nitrogen in the soil. 

Encouragement of Leguminous Crops. — Having ascertained these 
facts, the question naturally arises, How can the growth of leguminous 
plants be encouraged? It has been discovered that leguminous crops 
require considerable supplies of potash and phosphatic fertilizers. Potash 
has considerable to do with the metabolism concerned in the formation of 
carbohydrates, and phosphorus compounds have to do with the nitrogen- 



2 24 PAaXORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

ous metabolism. This fact was impressed upon the writer on a visit to 
the Rothamsted Experiment Farm in England in 1892. Experiments at 
Rothamsted have demonstrated that whenever nitrogenous fertilizers 
were supplied to the plots of herbage, the grasses increased in number and 
abundance. Whenever potash replaced the nitrogen, the leguminous 
plants began to invade the experimental plats. The student having 
followed the above discussion may ask the question, if it is not possible 
to introduce the proper organism, namely. Bacillus radicicola to the soil 
in order to render more certain the inoculation of the leguminous plants 
grown either for forage, for human food, or for green n^anure, as the 
leguminous plants through the activity of the nodule-forming bacteria 
are supplied with a source of nitrogen not available to most other plants? 

Microbe-Seeding. — Where nitrogen-fixing bacteria are lacking in a 
soil, it is possible to introduce them artificially either by transferring soil 
from an old field, where the desired leguminous crop has been grown suc- 
cessfully, or by the use of pure cultures of the proper organism. The 
method of transferring soil is inconvenient and expensive, and the use of 
the preparation nitragin has not been a success. . The organisms grown 
upon nitrogen-free media have been found beneficial, if added directly 
to the soil, although negative results are obtained, if the soil already con- 
tains the proper bacteria, or if the soil is acid, needs fertilizers, such as 
potash, phosphoric acid, or lime, and is so rich in nitrogen as to prevent 
the development of the nitrogen-fixing organism. ^ 

Nitrogen-consumiiig Plants. — The point of interest to remember is 
that the preceding leguminous, nitrogen-storing crop prepares the soil, 
if used as a green manure, for the succeeding nitrogen-consuming crops, 
which need their nitrogen in the form of nitrates. Agriculturally speak- 
ing there are eight groups of nitrogen-consuming plants which may be 
distinguished: the root, bulb, stem, leaf, flower, fruit, seed, and cereal crops. 
All of these crops need nitrogenous substance for their best development, 
because sugar, starch and other carbohydrate reserve materials are only 
stored in the plant when nitrogen is present in efficient supplies. The 
proper storage of the various carbohydrates can take place only when the 
storage cells are supplied with the requisite amounts of nitrogen and 
potash. If the plant is nitrogen hungry, such carbohydrate reserve 
supplies are not formed. As a large number of plants used by man and 
grown in various parts of America in horticultural and agricultural opera- 
tions have been omitted purposely in order to keep this book within 



NITROGEN-CONSUMING PLANTS 225 

bounds, an enumeration of these nitrogen-consuming plants will be made 
here. 



Root Crops 

The root crops are those which represent the underground root, or 
stem of the plant which is cultivated. Enumerated the plants are: 

Potato {Solanum tuberosum), a native of America and cultivated for 
its enlarged, starch-filled tubers. 

Sweet Potato {Ipomoea batatas) originally from the West Indies and 
Central America. It is cultivated for its fleshy roots filled with starch. 

Radish (Raphanus sativus) is a native of the temperate regions of the 
old world and is raised for its fleshy tap root. 

Horse-radish {Radicula armor acia). — This plant is a native of Europe 
and has a white, fleshy, cylindrical root, which is grated and used as a 
condiment. 

Turnip (Brassica napus). — The turnip is a biennial plant producing 
an edible, fleshy tap root. It is a native probably of Europe, or Western 
Asia. 

Rutabaga, or Swede Turnip {Brassica campestris). — The fleshy edible 
root has a short stem, or neck, at its upper part which distinguishes it 
from the turnip. It is used as food for stock and occasionally as food for 
man. 

Beet {Beta vulgaris). — This is a complex species separated into 
several well-marked groups, as the sugar beet, mangel-wurzels and com- 
mon garden beet. The wild beet occurs along the coasts of southern 
Europe as a perennial sea beet {Beta maritima) with a tough, slender root. 

Jerusalem Artichoke {Helianthus tuberoses). — The thick, fleshy root- 
stocks with oblong tubers are the parts used as food. This native 
American plant is also called earth apple, Canada potato, girasole and 
topinambour. 

Carrot {Daucus carota). — The conical root of the carrot is an important 
food. The carrot is a biennial plant native of Europe and Asia. 

Parsnip {Pastinaca sativa). — The fleshy root of the cultivated plant 
has been developed from a thin, tough, woody root and hypocotyl. It is 
a native of Europe. 

Celeriac {Apium graveolens). — This vegetable is the turnip-Hke root 
of the celery plant, originally a wild plant of Europe. 

i5 



2 26 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

Salsify {Tragopogon porrifolius) . — This plant is grown for its fleshy 
roots which have an oyster flavor. 

Chorogi {Stachys Sieboldii).- — The Chinese, or Japanese artichoke is 
a mint-like plant with crisp tubers eaten raw, or cooked. 

Ulluco {U Uncus tuberosus). — ^This plant is a native of Peru, where 
it is cultivated for its tubers. 

Chufa {Cyperus esculentiis) . — The edible tubers of this sedge are much 
prized in the south, where it is often cultivated. The raw, or baked 
chufas have an agreeable nutty flavor. 

Ginger {Zingiber officinale). — -The rhizomes of this tropical plant 
are cultivated. 

Taro, or Dasheen {Colocasia antiquorum var. esculenta). — This is the 
elephant's ear of our gardens. It has been grown as taro from time im- 
memorial by the South Sea Islanders, as one of their important food 
plants. It has been lately grown in the United States for its large starchy 
corms and its leaves under the name of dasheen. 

Eddo, Tannia, Yautia, Cocoe {Xanthosoma atrovirens). — The under- 
ground tubers are edible. 

Cassava {Manihot utilissima). — This plant is also-called bitter cassava, 
mandioca, manioc, tapioca plant. It is the chief food of the tropical 
Indian tribes of South America, where maize is not grown. Cassava is 
cultivated for its starchy roots in many parts of the tropics, since it is a 
crop which yields large return for a comparatively small amount of labor. 

Yam (Dioscorca alata and D. batatas). — The yam is much cultivated 
in countries with a warm climate for its large, mealy, or starchy roots, 
which are used much like sweet potatoes. 

Arracacha {Arracacha esculenta). — This is a plant allied to the parsnip 
and carrot and is extensively cultivated in the Andes. It has become 
naturalized in Jamaica. 

Bulb Crops 

Chia-peh-ho (Lilium tigrinnm). — The bulbs of this lily with a pars- 
nip flavor are eaten in China. 

Onion {Allium cepa). — The cultivation of the onion dates back to the 
earliest times in the history of China, Egypt and India. Its bulbs are 
large and show many varietal differences due to manner of propagation, 
quality, shape, color, size and time of maturity (Fig. 96). 

Garlic {Allium sativum). — ^This plant is a native of southern Europe. 



NITROGEN-CONSUMING PLANTS 



227 



Leek {Allium porruni). — A robust biennial plant with small bulbs, 
native of the Mediterranean region. 

Chives {Allium schoenoprasam) . — A hardy perennial plant bearing 
small, narrowly ovoid, clustered bulbs with membranous coats. It is 
a native of Europe, Asia and North 
America. 

Shallot {Allium ascalonicum) . — The 
bulbs are borne in clusters, but unlike 
garHc are not surrounded by a thin 
membrane. 

Welsh Onion, or Ciboule {Allium 
fistulosimi). — This is an annual, or 
biennial plant with long fibrous roots 
without bulbs, but the base of the plant 
is swollen. It grows wild in the Altai 
mountains and about Lake Baikal in 
Siberia. 

Stem Crops 




ses 



Asparagus {Asparagus officinalis). — 
The stems of this lUiaceous plant are 
annual arising from fleshy, perennial 
roots and rootstocks. The young 
shoots are used as a vegetable. 
Asparagus is wild in Asia and Europe 

(Fig. 97)- 

Sugar Cane {Saccharum officinarum) . 
The stems of this perennial grass are 
one of the chief sources of commercial 
sugar. It is extensively cultivated in 
the tropics. 

Bamboo [Bambusa arundinacea, B. vulgaris) and {Arundinaria nitida). 
The shoots of the bamboo are eaten in China in the fresh, dried and 
salted condition. They are also canned for the export trade. 

Kohl-rabi {Brassica oleracea var. caulo-rapa) . — The enlarged basal part 
of the cabbage stem is eaten as a vegetable under the above name. 

Udo {Aralia cordata). — The blanched stems of this plant introduced into 
the United States in 1903 from Japan by Lathrop and Fairchild are used 
as a vegetable. 



-^lem 



Fig. 96. — Median lengthwise section 
of common onion bulb. {Robbins .) 



2 2.S 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY' 



Flax {Linum usitatissimum) . — The bast fibers in the stem of the 
flax are used for the making of hnen fiber. 

Hemp {Cannabis sativa). — This plant is cultivated in Europe, Asia 
and the United States for the valuable bast fibers of its stem, which are 
made into cordage. 

Jute {Cor chorus capsular is and C. olitorius). — This plant is grown in 
Asia for the fibers obtained from its stem by retting. 

Ramie {Boehmeria nivea). — The fibers of the stem are usually obtained 
in China by a slow and expensive extraction by hand. 




Fig. 97. — Garden asparagus (Asparagus officinalis). A, young shoot or "spear"; 
B, thick, fibrous roots and young shoots arising from "crown." {Robhins .) 

Rubber {Ilevea brasiliensis). — This the Para rubber tree is cultivated 
in some tropical countries for its latex, or milky juice, which is converted 
into rubber. 

Castilloa elastica.^ — A tree of Central America yields Panama rubber 
and the guayule {Partheniiim argentatum) is a desert shrub of Mexico 
from which rubber has been extracted. The Assam rubber is obtained 
from a tropical fig {Ficus elastica) much cultivated indoors in temperate 
climates for its foliage. 

Cinchona {Cinchona calisaya). — The bark of this tree yields quinine. 



nitrogen-consuming plants 229 

Leaf Crops 

Cabbage {Brassica oleracea var. capitata). — The leaves of the wild 
plant from the seashore of southwestern Europe are enlarged and massed 
together to form a head. 

Kale and Collard {Brassica oleracea var. viridis). — Collards are 
much grown in the south particularly Georgia. The stem is branched 
and leafy with broad leaves. 

Brussels Sprouts {Brassica oleracea var. gemmifera). — The axillary 
buds of this variety of cabbage plant have increased in number along the 
stem and form small rounded heads, or "sprouts." 

Peh-ts'ai {Brassica chinensis). — The Chinese cabbage attains its 
perfection in the colder parts of China. It has recently been introduced 
into cultivation in the United States. 

Lettuce [Lactuca saliva). — ^There are several varieties of lettuce, 
which are cultivated for their leaves, which are used for salad. The 
cos lettuce and head lettuce are the most common. 

Endive {Cichorium endivia). — The leaves of this plant are used as 
greens, as also those of the closely related succory (C. intyhus). 

Celery {Apium graveolens). — The blanched, basal sheath of the leaves 
and the petioles represent the market celery. The plant was originally 
cultivated in Europe. 

Parsley {Apium petroselinum). — The leaves, which are gathered for 
use as a pot herb, are plain, or curled. 

Rhubarb {Rheum rhaponticum) .- — ^The use of the succulent leaf stalks 
for stewing and for tarts is widespread. 

Dasheen (see under root crops) . 

Spinach {Spinacia oleracea). — The leaves of this are much in demand 
for greens. It is a native of southwestern Asia and in China is called 
po-ts'ai. 

New Zealand Spinach {Tetragonia expansa). — The tender leaves and 
tips of the stem are used for greens. 

Tea {Camellia Thea). — The young leaves of this shrub are gathered 
and dried for export from the various warm temperate countries where tea 
is grown as a commercial crop. The industry is an enormous one in China. 

Mate {Ilex paraguayensis). — The leaves of this shrub are used as a 
popular beverage in several South American countries. 



2,.^0 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

Coca {Erythroxylon coca). — The leaves of this South American shrub 
are universally chewed by the Indian men and women, because they have 
stimulating effect and prevent tissue waste. 

Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). — The large leaves of this American 
plant are cured and made into cigars, cigarettes, chewing and smoking 
tobacco. 

Manila Hemp {Musa iexiilis).—^The leaf fibers of this species of banana 
are made into Manila hemp one of the chief exports from the Phihppine 
islands. 

Pita (Agave americana). — The maguey grows on the plateaus of Mexi- 
co, and its leaves yield the valuable Pita fiber. 

Sisal {Agave sisalana and Agave rigida var. sisalana). — ^The sisal fiber 
is exported in large quantities from Yucatan in Mexico. 

New Zealand Flax (Phormium tenax). — The plant which yields this 
fiber grows wild in New Zealand and neighboring islands where it was used 
by the native Maoris. 

Bowstring Hemp (Sansevieria cylindrica). — The natives of South 
Africa, where this plant grows, make their bowstrings from the leaf fibers. 

Medicinal Leaves.- — The following are some of the important medicinal 
leaves: rosmary, thyme, eucalyptus, senna, coca, belladonna, digitalis, 
buchu, and aconite. 

Flower Crops 

Cauliflower, Broccoli {Brassica oleracea var. botrytis). — These are 
types of cabbage plant in which there is a large head composed of abortive 
flowers upon very much modified, thickened flower stems (Fig. 98). 

Artichoke {Cyiiara scolymus). — The fleshy involucral bracts and the 
fleshy receptacle of the heads of this compositous plant are used as a 
vegetable. 

Yeh-peh-ho {Lilium Sargentice). — The flowers of this lily are eaten 
in China after being boiled, diied in the sun, minced, fried with salt and oil 
eaten in the same way as preserved cabbage. 

Huang-hua-ts'ai (HemerocaUis flava.) — The flowers of the yellow day 
lily are eaten by the Chinese. 

Flowers for Perfume. — In the provinces of southern France as at 
Grasse, flowers are raised commercially for the manufacture of the various 
extracts and perfumes in universal demand by civilized men. The flowers 
of roses, violets, jasmine and orange are so used. 



NITROGEN-CONSUMING PLANTS 



231 



Insect Powders. — Insect powder is made from the finely ground flower 
heads of Chrysanthemum pyrethrum. Dalmatian insect powder comes 
from Chrysanthemum oilier aricBfolium and Persian from C. roseum. 




Fig. 98. — Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea botrylis). A, entire plant; B, portion of "head. 

(Robbins.) 



Fruit Crops 
Temperate Lands 

Apple {Pyrus malus). — The apple is cultivated extensively in a great 
many varieties in America, Asia and Europe. 

Pear [Pyrus communis). — The common pear is probably a native of 
southern Europe and Asia with a fruit usually tapering to the base and a 
flesh with grit cells. 



232 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

Quince {Cydonia oblonga). — The quince tree produces a fruit hairy 
when young, becoming smoother with age. The skin is yellow at matu- 
rity and the seeds are surrounded by a mucilaginous covering. 

Plum {Primus). — This genus includes a number of species of trees 
which yield a plum-hke fruit. 

Sweet Cherry [Primus avium). — The sweet cherry is produced on a 
tall European tree, which has been cultivated in America for many years. 

Sour Cherry {Prunus cerasus). — The tree which produces the sour 
cherry is smaller than the sweet cherry tree, but Hke it it is a native of 
Europe. 

Apricot [Prunus armeniaca). — This species is considered to be a native 
of southern Asia. 

Peach {Prunus persica). — The peach tree is probably a native of 
China and was long ago introduced into Europe and later America through 
central Asia. 

Almond {Prunus amygdalus). — The almond is cultivated for its kernel 
with seed, therefore the outer fruit coats are fibrous and not fleshy as in 
the peach with which the almond is closely related. 

Olive {Oka europcBa). — The olive tree with evergreen, grayish-green 
foliage is a native of the Mediterranean region, where it has been culti- 
vated since ancient times. 

Ash Pumpkin {Benincasa cerifera). — A large, handsome, oval-shaped 
gourd grown throughout China and Japan. 

Water-melon {Citrullus vulgaris).- — ^This fruit because of its refrigerant 
pulp is deservedly popular in late summer. 

Melon {Cuciimis melo). 

Native Cucimiber [Cucumis sativus). — ^The fruit is usually peeled, 
sliced and served in vinegar. 

Pimapkin {Cucurbita pepo). — The fruit of this annual species has a 
ribbed usually reddish-orange rind. 

Squash {Cucurhitia maxima) .—Thtxe are several kinds of squashes, 
such as the turban, Hubbard, Marblehead and marrow squashes. 

Cantaloupe [Cucumis melo). — The true cantaloupes are usually deep- 
ribbed, hard-rinded and warty, or scaly. 

Tomato [Lycopersicum esculenium). — The fruit of this short-lived 
perennial of the family Solanacea used to be considered poisonous and was 
known then as love-apple. It is now one of our most important fruit 
vegetables. 



NITROGEN-CONSUMING PLy^NTS 233 

Egg Plant (Solanum melongena). — The fruit is a large, purple-skinned, 
pear-shaped one used in the baked form or sliced and fried either with 
or without bread-crubs. 

Pepper {Capsicum anmium). — The fruit is red or green color and exists 
in a number of varieties prized for their pungency. 

Fig {Ficus carica). — The fig is cultivated to some extent in the southern 
and southwestern United States and Mexico, where its fresh fruit may be 
obtained. The cured and pressed figs are found on the fruit stands of all 
large American cities. 

Mulberry {Morus alha,M. nigra, M. rubra). — These trees are sometimes 
cultivated for their multiple juicy fruits. 

Date {Phoenix dadylifera) . — -The finer varieties of date from the desert 
regions of North Africa have been introduced recently into the United 
States, where their cultivation in Arizona and southern California has 
become an established fact. 

Persimmon {Diospyroc virginiana and D. kaki). — -The finer culti- 
vated persimmons came to us from Japan, where the fruit is much relished. 

Currant {Ribes rubrum).— This species includes all of the red and 
white fruited currants. The black currant of Europe is R. nigrum, the 
wild black currant of America is R. americanum and the flowering currant 
R. aureum. 

Gooseberry {Ribes grossularia and Ribes oxyacantha) . — The first 
named gooseberry is European with a rough hairy or prickly fruit, the 
second species is American with a smooth fruit. 

Blackberry {Rubus nigrobaccus). — The tall stems of this plant are 
armed with strong, hooked prickles. The plant grows in the eastern 
United States and has sweet, aromatic fruit. 

Dewberry {Rubus trivialis and R. villosus). — The first species is south- 
ern and the last grows in the north. Both have been introduced into 
cultivation. 

Raspberry {Rubus occidentalis and R. strigosus). — The first mentioned 
species is the black raspberry and the second the red raspberry. Both 
are native of America. 

Strawberry {Fragaria). — Three species must be considered as the 
cultivated ones. The early settlers in the eastern United States culti- 
vated the wild strawberry {Fragaria virginiana). Attempts have been 
made to grow the European strawberry {Fragaria vesca), but it has been 
limited. Most of our cultivated strawberries belong to the species, 
F. chiloensis (Fig. 99). 



234 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



Grape (Vitis). — The old-world grape is Vitis vinifera. The muscadine 
grapes, or southern fox grapes are Vitis rotundifoHa, one of the chief 
varieties of which is the Scuppernong. The northern fox grape (F. 
labrusca) has given us the Concord, one of the best grapes grown. 

Okra (iribiscus esrulentns). — The capsule of this plant is rich in muci- 
lage, hence, the fruit is a favorite one to thicken soup. 



— cortex oj 
\cle 



medulla of 
receptacle 




Fig. 99. — Strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis). A, "fruit" in median length-wise section 
X2,''2! -S. single achene, X 20. (Rohbins.) 



Blueberry {V actinium corymbosum) . — Since the discovery that this 
swamp shrub can be grown in an acid peat, hopes have been raised that 
superior table fruits may be derived from the large, sweet, wild fruit. 

Cranberry {Vaccinium macrocarpon). — The trailing plant, which yields 
the cranberry, so much used in the making of a jelly-like sauce, is grown 
extensively on Cape Cod, in New Jersey and in Michigan. 



NITROGEN-CONSUMING PLANTS 235 



Tropical Fruits 



Citron {Citrus mcdica). — The commercial citron is the dried fruit of 
this species. It is also candied. 

Lemon {Citrus limonia). — -The lemon tree is a native of India and its 
fruits yield a sour juice used in the making of lemonade. 

Lime {Citrtis aurantifolia) . — The small greenish fruits are borne on a 
small straggling tree. 

Sweet Orange {Citrus sinensis). — The concensus of opinion as to the 
home of the wild orange is southeastern China. 

King Orange {Citrus nohilis). — The fruit of this tree is rarely seen in 
the city fruiterers. A variety is known as the mandarin orange. 

Grapefruit, Shaddock, Pomelo {Citrus grandis). — The large yellow 
fruits of this species have become an almost indispensable fruit for the 
breakfast table. 

Sour Orange {Citrus aurantium). — This species is now much used for 
budding and grafting the better varieties of citrus plants upon. 

Pineapple {Ananas sativus). — The multiple, juicy fruit of this plant 
is borne in the center of a rosette of spiny, rigid, leathery leaves. The 
fruit is eaten fresh, or canned. 

Custard-apple {Annona squamosa). The tree which produces this 
fruit with a white granular, sweet custard-like pulp is a native of Asia 
and tropical America. 

Bread-fruit {Artocarpus incisa). — The fruit is large and is roasted in the 
tropics as a vegetable. The leaves of the tree are glossy and pinnately 
incised. 

Papaw {Carica papaya). — The hollow fruit of this plant with yellowish 
pulp has digestive properties and is used to assist digestion in the tropics. 
Durian (Durio zibethinus). — The tuberculate fruit of this tree is relished 
by some, as resembling blanc-mange, delicious as the finest cream. The 
bad odor of this fruit causes some people to avoid eating it. The name 
civet-cat fruit is suggestive of its smell. 

Mango {Mangijera indica). — The delicious fruit of this tree has been 
likened to a piece of cotton soaked with turpentine, as the flat seeds are 
usually covered with a dense hairy covering. Improved kinds are grown. 

Plantain, or Banana, {Musa sapienttim) .—This is one of the principal 
tropical fruits cultivated in extensive plantations and shipped to northern 
ports. The trade is enormous. 



236 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

Alligator Pear (Persea gratissima). — The tree, which yields a smooth 
skirfned fruit, is cultivated in Florida and elsewhere in the tropics. 

Cereal Crops 

This group includes the caryopses of maize, wheat, rye, barley, oats, 
rice, wild rice, and others previously described in detail, and in addition the 
following, which were not described, because of the want of space for a 
proper presentation of their botany and usefulness: the sorghums (Andro- 
pogon sorghum) include the cereals sorgo, kafir, milo, broom corn, shallou, 
kowliang, durra and the millets: pearl millet {Pennisetum glaucum), 
proso, hog, or broom-corn millet (Panicum miliaceum), the foxtail millet 
{Chaetochloa italica), the barnyard millet {Echinochloa crus-galli) and the 
Japanese barnyard millet [Echinochloa frumentacea) . The foxtail millet 
{Chaetochloa italica) includes the types Hungarian, Aino, German, Siberian, 
Golden Wonder and common millets. The bibliography given later will 
enable the student to become acquainted with them. See following bibliog- 
raphy under "additional cereal and grain crops." 

Seed Crops 

Cotton {Gossypium barbadense and G. herbaceum) .—These two species 
are literally cultivated for their seeds for after the removal of the twisted 
hairs from the surface of the seed coats, the seeds are ground and yield 
a table oil and a cake used as a cattle feed. 

Coffee {Cofea arabica). — The seeds are taken from the fruit, decorti- 
cated and roasted before being used to make one of the favorite beverages 
of civilized man. 

Cocoa. (Theobroma cacao). — ^The seeds of this tree are found in large, 
ribbed capsules. They are removed, dried and are ground for use in mak- 
ing chocolate by the addition of sugar. 

Coconut iCocos nucifera).- — The fruit of this palm is a drupe with a 
large, fibrous covering inclosing the so called nut, the shell of which (the 
endocarp of the fruit) has 3 germ pores. The shell incloses the large seed, 
the endosperm of which inclosing the embryo, contains an abundance of 
oil. The direct endosperm is exported as copra and from copra is ex- 
tracted the oil used in the making of soap. 

Flax {{Linwn usitatissimum). — From the seeds of the flax is obtained 
by expression, linseed oil. 



NITROGEN-GCONSUMIN PLANTS 237 

Castor Oil {{Ricinus communis). — ^The medicinal castor oil obtained 
from the seeds of this plant has strong laxative properties. There was a 
great demand during the late world war for castor oil as a lubricant for 
aeroplanes. 

Quinoa {Cheno podium quinoa). — ^The small, round, white seeds of this 
South American plant are used as a food. 

Betel (Areca catechu). — The seeds of this palm are gathered in India 
and elsewhere for use as a masticatory, or chewing material. The seeds 
are sliced and rolled up with lime in leaves of the betel pepper. The 
teeth of the consumer are stained with the juice. 

Modern experiments prove that the production of the nitrogen-con- 
suming plants (root crops, bulb crops, stem crops, leaf crops, flower crops, 
fruit crops, seed crops, cereal crops, as above) should be alternated with 
the cultivation of the nitrogen-storing plants, such as alfalfa, clover, beans, 
cowpeas, soy-beans, lupines, which accumulate atmospheric nitrogen by 
the agency of the bacteria in their root nodules. With a view to emphasiz- 
ing this fact as we have proceeded with our descriptions approved rota- 
tions have been given for various crop plants in which rotations the 
leguminous plants have prominently figured. Progressive farmers should 
grow-nitrogen accumulating plants for home consumption and nitrogen- 
consuming crops for sale and removal from the farms where produced, 
either to home, or to foreign markets. This system should be extended so 
as to comprehend the whole country in a complete and perfect, system of 
rotation. It will bring about a diversification of agricultural industries, 
so as to permit the cultivation of the crops best adapted to the climate and 
soil zones of America and other countries. 

Bibliography 

Allen, E. W. : Leguminous Plants for Green Manuring and for Feeding. Farmers' 

Bulletin 16, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1894. 
Cameron, S. C. R. : The Wild Foods of Great Britain where to Find Them and how 

to Cook Them. London, George Routledge & Sons, Ltd., 191 7. 
Collins, S. H. : Plant Products and Chemical Fertilizers. New York, W. Van 

Nostrand Company, 1919. 
Dodge, Charles Richards : Flax for Seed and Fiber in the United States. Farmers' 

Bulletin 27, 1895. 
DuGGAR, J, F,: Sweet Potatoes: Culture and Uses. Farmers' Bulletin 26, 1895. 
Drews, George J.: Unfired Foods and Trop ho therapy. Chicago, 1919. 
Fischer, Alfred: The Structure and Functions of Bacteria. Oxford at the Clarendon 

Press, 1900, 88-106. 



238 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

Freeman, \V. G., Chandler, S. E. and Henry, T. A.: The World's Commercial Prod- 
ucts. Boston, Ginn and Company, 191 1. 

Hall, A. D.: The Book of Rothamsted Experiments. New York, E. P. Dutton and 
Co., 1905. 

Harsuberger, John W.: The Accumulation of Soil Nitrogen, liullelin 151, De- 
partment of Agriculture of Pennsylvania, 1906, 76-84, Proceedings of the Spring 
Meeting of the State Board of Agriculture and Farmers' Annual Normal Institute 
held in the Court House, Clearfield, Penna., lyiay 29 to 31, 1906; A Text Book of 
Mycology and Plant Pathology. Philadelphia, P. Blakiston's Son & Co., 1917; 
28-31; Maize: A Botanical and Economic Study. Contributions from the Bo- 
tanical Laboratory, University of Pennsylvania, i, 189-198, 1893. American 
Food Plants, Past and Present. Public Lectures, University of Pennsylvania, v: 
215-232, 1917-1918. 

Kellerman, Karl F. and Robinson, T. R. : Inoculation of Legumes. Farmers' 
Bulletin 240, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1905; Progress in Legume Inocula- 
tion. Farmers' Bulletin 315, 1908. 

Kephart, Horace: The Book of Camping and Woodcraft. A Guidebook for those 
who Travel in the Wilderness. New York, The Outing Publishing Company, 
1909, pages 217-255. 

Lawes, John B. and Gilbert, J. Henry: The Battle rn the Meadow. Gardeners' 
Chronicle, new ser., xii, 390, Sept. 27, 1879. 

Lipman, Jacob G. : Bacteria in Relation to Country Life. New York, The MacMillan 
Company, 1908. 

MacMillan, H. F.: A Handbook of Tropical Gardening and Planting. Second 
edition, H. W. Cave & Co., Colombo, 1914. v 

Maisch, John M. : A Manual of Organic Materia 31edica. Third edition, Philadelphia, 
Lea Brothers & Co., 1887, 209-252. 

Moore, George T.: Soil Inoculation for Legumes. Bulletin 71, Bureau of Plant 
Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1905. 

Moore, George T. and Robinson, T. R.: Beneficial Bacteria for Leguminous Crops. 
Farmers' Bulletin 214, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1905. 

Piper, C. V.: Leguminous Crops for Green Manuring. Farmers' Bulletin 278, 1907. 

RoBBiNS, Wilfred W.: The Botany of Crop Plants. Philadelphia, P. Blakiston's 
Son & Co., 191 7. 

Saunders, Charles F. : Useful Wild Plants of the United States and Canada. 
New York, Robert M. McBride & Co.. 1920. 

Smith, Erwin F.: Bacteria in Relation to Plant Diseases. Volume 2, 1911, 97-146. 

Spratt, Ethel R.: A Comparative Account of the Root-nodules of the Leguminosae. 
Annals of Botany, cx.xx, 189-199, April, 1919. 

Wiley, H. W.: The Sugar Beet. Farmers' Bulletin 52, 1897. 

Wilson, E. H.: A Naturalist in Western China with Vasculum, Camera and Gun. 
New York, Doubleday, Page & Co., 11, 48-63, 19 13. 

WiNSLOW, Charles Edward Amory: Protection of River and Harbor Waters from 
Municipal Wastes. Guide Leaflet 33, American Museum of Natural History, 
April, 1911. 



ADDITIONAL GRAIN CROPS 239 

Additional Cereal and Grain Crops 

Babcock, F. Ray: Cereal Experiments at the Williston Station. Bulletin 270, U. S. 

Department of Agriculture, 1915. 
Babcock, F. Ray and Smith, Ralph W.: Grains for Western, North and South Dakota. 

Farmers' Bulletin 878, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 191 7. 
Ball, Carleton R.: The History and Distribution of Sorghum. Bulletin 175, Bureau 

of Plant Industry, 1910; The Important and Improvement of the Grain Sorghums. 

Bulletin 203, Bureau of Plant Industry, 191 1; Better Grain-sorghum Crops. 

Farmers' Bulletin 448, 191 1; The Kaoliangs: a New Group of Grain Sorghums. 

Bulletin 253, Bureau 6i Plant Industry, 1913. 
Ball, Carleton R. and Hastings, Stephen H. : Grain-sorghum Production in the 

San Antonio Region of Texas. Bulletin 237, Bureau of Plant Industry, 1912. 
Ball, Carleton R. and Leidigh, Arthur H. : Milo as a Dry-land Grain Crop. Farm- 
ers' Bulletin 322, 1908. 
Ball, Carleton R. and Rothgeb, Benton E.: Kafir as a Grain Crop. Farmers' 

Bulletin 552, 1913; Uses of Sorghum Grain. Farmers' Bulletin 686, 1915; How to 

Use Sorghum Grain. Farmers' Bulletin 972, 1918; Grain-sorghum Experiments in 

the Panhandle of Texas. Bulletin 698, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1918. 
Breithaupt, L. R.: Grains for the Dry Lands of Central Oregon. Farmers' Bulletin 

800, 191 7. 
Champlin, Manley: Experiments with Wheat, Oats and Barley in South Dakota. 

Bulletin 39, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1914. 
Chilcott, E. F., Griggs, W. D. and Burmeister, C. A.: Corn, Milo and Kafir in the 

Southern Great Plains Area: Relation of Cultural Methods to Production. Bulle- 
tin 242, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1915. 
Clark, J. Allen: Cereal Experiments at Dickinson, N. Dak. Bulletin ^^, U. S. 

Department of Agriculture, 1914. 
Dillman, a. C: Breeding Millet and Sorgho for Drought Adaptation. Bulletin 291, 

U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1916. 
Donaldson, N. C: Cereal Experiments at the Judith Basin Substation, Moccasin, 

Mont. Bulletin 398, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1916. 
Hastings, Stephen H.: The Importance of Thick Seeding in the Production of Milo 

in the San Antonio Region. Bulletin 188, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 

1915- 
Jones, Jenkin W.: Cereal Experiments on the Cheyenne Experiment Farm, Archer, 

Wyo. Bulletin 430, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 19 16. 
Kellerman, Karl F. : A New Source of Plant Food, the Nodules on the Rubiaceous 

Plants. Journal of Heredity, x, 307, October, 1919. 
Letteer, C. R. ; Growing Grain Sorghums in the San Antonio District of Texas. 

Farmers' Bulletin 965, 1918. 
Robbins, Wilfred W.: The Botany of Crop Plants. P. Blakiston's Son & Co., 191 7. 
Ross, John F. and Leidigh, A. H. : Cereal Experiments in the Texas Panhandle. 

Bulletin 283, Bureau of Plant Industry, 1913. 
Rothgeb, Benton E.: Standard Broom Corn. Farmers' Bulletin 958, 1918; Shallu 

or "Egyptian Wheat." Farmers' Bulletin 827, 1917; Dwarf Broom Corn. Farm- 
ers' Bulletin 768, 1916, 



240 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

Salmon, Cecil: Cereal Investigations on the Belle Fourche Experiment Farm. Bulle- 
tin 297, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1915. 

Scott, George A.: The Feeding of Grain Sorghums to Live Stock. Farmers' Bulletin 
724, 1916. 

Shantz, H. L. : National Vegetation as an Indicator of the Capabilities of Land for 
Crop Production in the Great Plains Area. Bulletin 201, Bureau of Plant In- 
dustry, 191 1. 

Stephens, David E.: Experiments with Spring Cereals at the Eastern Oregon Dry- 
farming Substation, Moro, Ore. Bulletin 498, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 
1917. 

ViNALL, H. N. : Sudan Grass as a Forage Crop. Farmers' Bulletin 605, 1914. 

Warburton, C. W.: The Non-saccharine Sorghums. Farmers' Bulletin 288, 1907. 

Williams, Thomas A.: Millets. Farmers' Bulletin 10 1, 1899. 

Laboratory Work 

Suggestions to Teachers. — The teacher should make a collection of the root systems 
of a number of the leguminous plants, such as the alfalfa, red clover, alsike clover, 
crimson clover, white clover, sweet clover, soy-bean, cowpea, peanut, bonavist, kudzu 
vine and others. Part of the material so collected should be fixed with chrom-acetic 
acid, or some other fixative, passed up into 50 per cent, alcohol, where it should be 
kept until it is prepared for paraffin sectioning. The other material of similar nature 
should be kept in 70 per cent, alcohol. 

Laboratory Exercises 

1. Draw a comparative series of the tubercles or nodules, of such plants as the alfalfa, 
red clover, white clover, soy-bean, cowpea and kudzu vine. 

2. With a razor make a thin section through each of the nodules above mentioned 
and draw the arrangement of the bacterial cells and vascular distribution with reference 
to the rootlet on which the nodule arises. 

3. Stain and mount in balsam, paraffin sections of two or three of the tubercles of 
two or three of the above mentioned plants. Study and draw with the high powers of the 
microscope. 



CHAPTER 17 
WEEDS AND WEED CONTROL 

Definition.— " A weed is a plant out of place." This is a short con- 
cise definition, easily remembered by students. "Any useless, or trouble- 
some plant" is another definition, which has been given and in addition 
longer definitions have been formulated, as follows: "Every plant which 
grows in a field other than that of which the seed has been (intentionally) 
sown by the husbandman is a weed." "Any plant which obtrusively 
occupies cultivated, or dressed ground, to the exclusion or injury of some 
particular crop intended to be grown" is another statement. "Thus, 
even the most useful plants may become weeds, if they appear out of their 
proper place. The term is sometimes applied to any insignificant looking 
or unprofitable plaijts which grow profusely in a state of nature, also to 
any noxious, or useless plant." "Weeds, are plants which tend to take 
prevalent possession of soil used for man's purposes, irrespective of his 
will; and, in accordance with usage we may restrict the term to herbs," 

Absolute and Relative Weeds. — Weeds may be divided into two classes; 
absolute weeds and relative weeds. An absolute weed is one which has 
no recognized use, as the horse nettle {Solanum carolinense) . A relative 
weed is one which may be extremely useful to man, but becomes a weed 
when out of its proper place. The Johnson grass of the south is an 
example. It is a very nutritious and valuable grass, if kept under con- 
trol, but if allowed to seed, it spreads rapidly into new ground and becomes 
extremely troublesome and difficult to eradicate. 

Injurious Nature of Weeds. — Weeds are injurious to man for the fol- 
lowing reasons. 

1. They crowd other plants. Two plants cannot occupy the same 
ground at the same time, and if weeds are abundant, they occupy the soil 
to the exclusion of the cultivated plants. 

2. They rob the soil of moisture. This may not be harmful, if the 
soil water is abundant, but when the supplies of water are reduced during 
dry weather, the weeds transpire through their leaves undue amounts of 
the precious liquid. Cultivation of the soil under such conditions is 

16 241 



242 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

beneficial, because it destroys the weeds, as water-robbers, and secondly, 
it forms a dust mulch. 

3. Weeds absorb the mineral and other food materials upon which the 
crop brought, into competition with weeds, depends. If the weeds are 
plentiful, very considerable amounts of food substance are removed 
from the soil and are thus not available to the planted crop. 

4. Certain weeds like the morning-glory and bindweed prostrate the 
cultivated plants by climbing up them and by their weight causing the 
growing crop plants to fall over. 

5. The weedy plants form fruits and seeds, which become mixed with 
those of the growing economic plants, and are difficult to remove in the 
cleaning of such seeds for market. Corn-cockle becomes mixed with 
wheat, chickweed with alfalfa seeds and the like. Such weed seeds are 
impurities and lower the agricultural and^commercial value of such 
economic seeds. 

6. Weeds, as the host plants of injurious crop insects, harbor the 
insects from planting time to planting time of the crop plants on which 
they prey. The injurious Colorado beetle, which destroys the potato, 
lives on the hedge mustard, tkistles, goose-foot and other weedy herbs. 

7. Weeds are injurious Ijccause they harbor parasitic fungi. The 
finger-and-toe organism of the turnip lives on the charlock as a weed. The 
white rust of cabbages (Cystopus candidus) is found on the shepherd's 
purse. 

8. Weeds interfere with the proper cultivation of the soil, as their 
presence mechanically obstructs the use of plow and harrow. 

9. It has been suggested without proof that weeds may poison the 
soil, so as to inhibit the growth of other plants. This relation has not 
been properly investigated. 

10. The roots of weeds penetrate the interior of the drains causing a 
stoppage, which can be removed only with difficulty. 

11. Weeds are unsightly and objectionable because of their smell, 
rankness and prickly fruits, etc. 

12. Weeds are injurious to man and the domestic animals because 
they are poisonous. This topic has been dilated upon in the earlier chap- 
ters of this book and need not be discussed here. 

13. Weeds sometimes render hay and other harvested crops of less 
financial value, and frequently reduce the yield, so that the financial 
returns may be such that the crop is grown at a serious monetary loss. 



WEEDS AND WEED CONTROL 243 

14. The presence of weeds in such abundance as to attract attention 
reduces the selHng value of the land on which they are found. 

Introduction and Distribution 

If the list of American weeds is scanned carefully and analytically, 
it will be found that most of the injurious and troublesome weeds have been 
introduced from Europe. A few have come from elsewhere. The ques- 
tion may be asked, why this fact is so? Before the natural conditions 
were much disturbed by white men from Europe, eastern America was a 
densely forested country in which most of the herbaceous plants grew 
on the forest floor in the shade of the dominant forest trees. When the 
forests were removed, these ground plants of the woods were subjected 
to the action of the full sunlight, to the drying effects of the wind, and to 
a soil deprived of its superficial layers of water-retentive leaf mold. They, 
therefore, were destroyed in large numbers of species, except the more 
hardy forms which adjusted their growth to the new conditions. .,The 
introduced plants, removed from the inhibition of their European 
competitors, insect and fungous foes and accustomed for at least a thousand 
years to open field cultivation and growth along roadsides and ether 
open places, found the new environment favorable to their rapid spread 
and occupancy of the soil vacated by the native species of plants. It has 
been suggested also that the European species were more plastic than the 
native American plants and better able to adjust their growth to their 
new surroundings. Some of the weeds, however, came from the west, 
but were introduced later than the advent and spread of the overseas army 
of weeds. These western weeds came in when the cultivated areas were 
extended westward beyond the forested areas, so as to occupy the open 
prairie and steppe country to the westward. Opportunity was thus 
presented for the native plants of the prairies and steppes bordering on the 
cultivated districts to contribute somewhat to the weed flora of the 
east, because with the plowing of the land these western weedy plants 
found the conditions very favorable for their eastern spread, such as 
the carpet weed (Mollugo verticillata) , daisy fleabane (Erigeron cana- 
densis), cocklebur (Xanthium), rag weed (Ambrosia artemisicBfolia) , 
vervain {Verbena hastata, V . urticifolia) , horse nettle (Solanum carolinense) 
and others. Of late and in consequence of increased communication 
with the prairies and the country beyond the Mississippi River, the west- 
ern plants are moving eastward by rapid strides. Such are fetid mari- 



244 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



gold (Dyssodia papposa), pineapple weed {Matricaria suaveolens) and 
wormwood (Artemisia biennis). Ninety years ago the black-eyed susan 
(Rudbetkia hirta) flourished from the Alleghany mountains westward, 
but was unknown in the east. Now since about i860, it has become an 
abundant and conspicuous weed in grass fields throughout the eastern 
states, as far as the Gulf of St. Lawrence, having been accidentally intro- 
duced in red clover seeds from the western states. The velvet leaf (Abu- 
tilon Theophrasti) and prince's feather {Polygonum orientale) have been 
introduced from India. The bur clover came to California from South 



P^^^^^^^H 


■k ^HIHHIHH^Bl 










wm ■■ 


«5r,?*|f . 




. .^i^. 






>■ " 







Pig. 100. 



-Russian thistle (Salso kali var. lenuifolia) as a tumbleweed at Akron, Colorado. 
(G. E. Nichols, 1913.) 



America. The orange hawk weed (Ilieracium aurantiacum) was grown 
from imported European seed by the aunt of the botanist, Cyrus G Pringle, 
in Charlotte, Vermont about 1845. The plant was much admired and sent 
to friends in Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont, according to Prof. Geo. 
P. Burns. It was cultivated in some gardens of Maine under the name 
of tassel-flower, or Venus's paint-brush. It propagates very freely by 
runners, as well, as by feathery fruits. It is now spread over large areas 
of Maine and other New England states, in northern Pennsylvania, as 
at Eaglesmere, where a field of it was noted by the writer in full bloom 
on June 22, 1905. 



WEEDS AND WEED CONTROL 



245 



Means of Distribution. — When once introduced, weeds migrate in 
a number of ways by natural and artificial means. The natural migra- 
tion of weeds is favored by the possession of runners (slender radiating 
branches), by elongating rootstocks, by running roots, by seed-throwing 
apparatus, by having fleshy edible fruits with hard seeds, by flying seeds, 
and winged fruits, by drifting over frozen ground, or snow, as tumble 
weeds, (Fig. 100), by means of water-carried seeds, by attachment to the 
hair and fur of animals by means of hooks and other devices. The artifi- 
cial means are as follows: Roots, rootstocks and bulbs are sometimes 
carried from field to field and from farm to farm by plows, harrows and 




Fig. ioi. 



-Extensive patch of bouncing bet {Saponaric officinalis) along an unused 
railroad siding across Hackensack Meadow, July 15, 1916. 



cultivators. Seeds and other plant parts are carried away in the ball of 
earth surrounding the roots of nurserystock. They are entangled in 
packing material, in the waste from woolen mills, as ihe storksbill (Erod- 
iuni), in hay, in commercial seeds, which is one of the most frequent ways 
of weed introduction. Weeds are carried along by the disturbance of the 
air through the passage of trains (Fig. loi) and automobiles and on these 
rapid means of conveyance. Weeds have been introduced as useful or 
ornamental plants which have later escaped from cultivation. They 
have been introduced in ballast and along with the packing of commercial 
articles. 



246 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

Lines of Travel. — The lines of travel of weeds are of interest. The 
chicory was introduced into the United States near Dorchester, Mass. 
in 1875. It is a common weed in western Long Island, eastern Pennsyl- 
vania, although of recent introduction there, and in the northern states. 
The water hyacinth {Eichornia crassipes) was introduced into the St. 
Johns' River in Florida in 1890. It has spread southward and westward 
through the state along the river courses, so as to choke them and impede 
navigation. The cardoon (Cynara cardunculus) introduced into Argen- 
tina from Europe covers the pampas for miles. The introduced redtop 
follows the abandoned wagon tracks across the otherwise unbroken prairie 
for miles. 

Special Weed Examples 

Goose-Grass (Eleusine indica). — This coarse grass came to us from 
India and seems to be thoroughly domesticated. It grows from clustered, 
fibrous roots and forms spikes in digitate clusters at the end of the stalk. 
It grows as a weed in yards and waste places. It can be controlled in 
lawns by squirting a few drops of crude carbolic acid into the heart of a 
tuft with a common machine oil-can, which treatment ought to kill it. 

Field Sorrel {Rwnex a.etosella). — The sheep sorrel has extensively 
creeping rootstocks with tufts of feeding roots. The radicle leaves are 
halberd-shaped and from their midst arises the flower stalk bearing male 
and female flowers on separate plants (dicBcious). Sorrel can be controlled 
by cultivating the soil and adding lime to correct its acidity (Fig. 102). 

Russian Thistle {Salsola halt var. tenuifolia). — This chenopodiaceous 
plant was introduced into the Dakotas and Minnesota in flax seed from 
Russia. It is a pernicious weed in grain fields and spreads itself as a 
tumble weed, scattering its seed, as it rolls over the ground blown about 
by the wind (Fig. 100). It can be controlled by sowing only clean seed and 
in cutting down the weed before it is allowed to seed. It then dies a 
natural death. 

Chickweed {Cerastium larvense). — This is a pestiferous weed in alfalfa 
fields in eastern Pennsylvania and elsewhere. It is a winter annual with 
densely tufted stems, opposite, linear-oblong leaves and white flowers 
with bifid petals. It is difficult to eradicate unless a rotation of crops is 
practised, the alfalfa, or grass crops invaded by chickweed being alter- 
nated with hoed, or cultivated crops. 



WEEDS AND WEED CONTROL 



247 



Purslane {Portulaca oleracea). — This is a bad weed in gardens (Fig. 
103). The experiments of W. J. Beal show that the seeds retain their 




Pig. 102. — Sheep sorrel {Riimex acetosella). A common weed in pastures and mea- 
dows, from Europe. (Division of Bot., U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.) {Reproduced in 
Pammel, L. H.: Some W'teds of Iowa, Bull. 70 Experiment Station, Iowa State College, 
1903. P- 348.) 

vitality in the soil for thirty years. It spreads over the ground with 
thick, alternate, obovate leaves. The small, black seeds are produced in 



248 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



small capsules, whose tops fall off as a lid. Hoeing up while in the seedling 
stage seems to be the only way of vanquishing this weed. Plants hung up 
to dry for a month, if returned to the soil, will begin their growth afresh, 
so that the hoed plants should be placed on the compost heap where 
fermentation will destroy the plants and the vitality of the seeds. 




Fig. 103. Pig. 104. 

Fig. 103. — Pusley (Porlulaca oleracea). An abundant garden weed. (Division of 
Bot., U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.) (Reproduced in Pommel, L. H.: Some Weeds of Iowa, 
Bull. 70, Experiment Station, Iowa State College, 1903, p. 358.) 

Fig. 104. — Shepherd's purse (Capsella Bursa-pastoris). Common everywhere in 
northern United States. (Division of Bot., U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.) {Reproduced 
in Pammel, L. II.: Some Weeds of Iowa, Bull. 70, Experiment Station, Iowa Slate College, 
1903. P- 364-) 

Shepherd's Purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris).— Th.isispxoha.h\y the most 
widely distributed weed on earth. It develops a rosette of tufted, pinna- 
tified leaves and an erect raceme of small, white flowers and later triangular 
flat silicles. This weed gradually succumbs to constant tillage, and when 
young, it is killed by a spray of copper or iron' sulfate (Fig. 104). 

Common Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis). — This stout biennial 
plant with a rosette of lanceolate, basal leaves, and tall, leafy-bracted 



WEEDS AND WEED CONTROL 249 

spikes of bright-yellow flowers, is a common weed in some places. It may 
be controlled by cutting the crown of leaves from the tap root with spud, 
or hoe, in the first season of its growth from seed. Plants with capsules 
fully formed should be burned. 

Wild Carrot {Dauciis carota). — This is perhaps one of the most common 
weeds in the eastern states, for in summer fields are white with its flowers 
produced in large spreading umbels. The crowns of twice to thrice pinnate 
leaves are produced the first season. Hand-pulling, as practised by some 




Fig. 105. — Horse nettle (Solanum carolinense), a perennial weed. (Division of 
Bot., U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.) (Reproduced in Pammel, L. H.: Some Weeds of 
Iowa. Bull. 70, Experiment Station, Iowa State College, 1903, p. 316.) 

of the farmers on Nantucket, is a rude method of extermination, provided 
the pulling is done before the fruits mature. Cutting off the leaf crowns 
with the hoe is also efficacious. In cultivated ground when the cultivatoi 
is used it gives little trouble, because it is usually uprooted the first season 
of its growth, being a biennial. 

Viper's Bugloss (ELhium vulgare). — This weed has established itself 
in the limestone soils of the Lebanon, Cumberland and Shenandoah valleys, 
where it is extremely common and troublesome. It is known, as Pater- 



250 



PASTOR AI. AND AC.RICULTli k Al. BOTANY 



son's Curse, in Australia. It is a biennial arising from a thick taproot 
and with rough, bristly hairy stems and leaves. The stiff bristles arise 
from fine red, tubercles which speckle the stem. Hoeing, or the use of 
the cultivator the first season of its growth, is beneficial, if no seeds are 
allowed to form. 

Horse Nettle (Solanum caroUnense). — The deep-seated rootstocks 
are most tenacious of life (Fig, 105). An Indiana farmer states that they 
will live ten years under a heap of sawdust and grow, as soon as this 
covering is removed. Sheep are the only grazing animals that will touch 
the plant. The trailing stems and broad leaves of the plant are charac- 




FiG. 106. — Two specimens of Ox-eye daisy i^Chrysanlhemum Lcucanlhemum var. 
pinnalifidum) in a sand-lot at Belmar, N. J., June 23, 1919. The right hand plant had 
a spreading habit with stiff, stout bluish-green stems margined with purple lines. It 
had 79 compact heads with crowded rayflowers of medium length. The left hand plant, a 
third taller than the other, was of a light green color with broader heads, the ray florets 
narrower, longer and more pointed. The stems were less stout, mere flexuous and the 
whole plant with 76 head-bearing stems. These are probably mutants of the common 
field daisy. 

terized by sharp yellow prickles. The flowers with pale-violet, rotate 
corollas are borne in open cymose clusters. It forms a small, yellow berry 
full of flat straw-colored seeds. If the area where it grows is not large, it 
may be killed by the use of hot brine, caustic soda, or kerosene. The 
production of seeds should be prevented and the plants frequently cut up 
with hoe, or spade. Salt on the cut surfaces will retard growth. The 
rootstocks may be destroyed by short rotations, alternating thoroughly 
cultivated crops. Two or three seasons of continuous effort are required 
to suppress this pest. 

Yellow Toad-Flax {Linaria vulgaris). — The deep, running rootstocks 
of this weed make it difficult to suppress. The plant grows about eighteen 



WEEDS AND WEED CONTROL 251 

inches tall beset with narrow, linear, alternate leaves. The flowers are 
labiate, spurred and yellow in color produced through the summer. The 
capsule is ovoid, two celled and filled with fifty to sixty flattened rough, 
wing-margined seeds. Small areas of this weed may be controlled by 
strong herbicides such as hot brine, or caustic soda. The use of a cultiva- 
tor tends to spread the weed. Hoes and hand labor are more effective. 
Persistent cutting will cause the rootstocks to starve to death. 




Fig. 107. — Ox-eye daisy (Crysanlhemum leticanthemum) . Common in the East. 
(Division of Bot., U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.) {Reproduced in Pammel, L. H.: Some 
Weeds of Iowa. Bull. 70 Experiment Station, Iowa State College, 1903, p. 337.) 

Ox-eye Daisy (Chrysanthemum leticanthemum pinnatifidum).- — The 
stems of white daisy are tufted from one to three feet high bearing a head 
of flowers with white marginal ones and yellow disc florets. The root 
leaves are in a rosette and are spatulate, pinnatifid. The achenes, which 
are found as an impurity in nearly all grass seeds, are grayish-black and 
finely ribbed without peppers. Clean seed only should be sowed. The 
daisy field can be cleansed by short rotations, as the perennial roots are 



252 



PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



turned out and killed by the plow. Mowing infested fields before the 
heads develop is another useful means of extermination (Figs. io6 and 
107). 

Canada Thistle (Cirsium arvense). — Nearly all of the states have laws 
which make it an offense for their citizens to permit this weed to mature 
and scatter its seeds. It is a perennial propagated by seeds and rootstocks. 
The map shows its range (Fig. 108). 




Fig. 108. — Map of the United States, showing the present distribution of the 
Canada thistle. The heavy line indicates the approximate southern boundary of the 
weed; the shaded area shows where the plant is most injurious. {After Hansen,* Albert 
A.: Canada Thistle and Methods of Eradication. Farmers' Bulletin 1002, 1918, p. 5.) 



Classification or Weeds 



Weeds are conveniently classified according to the duration of their 
underground parts into: 

1. Annual weeds, or those which complete their growth and mature 
their seeds in one year. Such plants are easily destroyed by cultivation. 
Here belong ragweed, crabgrass, purslane, pigweed and Russian thistle. 

2. Winter annuals. These plants drop their seeds in the fall which 
germinate and give rise lo plants which hold through the winter, finally 
producing flowers and seeds in the spring. Such are the chickweed and 
shepherd's i)ursc. Here also is the prickly lettuce and dead nettle. 



WEEDS AND WEED CONTROL 



253 




Fig. 109.— Mullein (Verbascum thapsus) in sandy field at Bayville, northern shore of 
Long Island, July 9, 1919. An unusually tl^rifty plant. 




Fig. iio. — Field of Mullein (Verbascum- thapsus) near Lake Mombasha, N. Y., July 30, 

1914- 



2 54 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

3. Biennials. The plants of this class expend their energy the first 
season in forming a root system and foliage leaves. The second year 
flowers are formed and the seeds are matured. The burdock. (Arctium 
lappa), the sweet clover {Melilotus alba), the wild carrot (Daucus carota), 
the mullein (Figs. 109 and no), and the teasel belong here. 

4. The fourth class includes the perennial weeds, which perennale 
by means of roots, rootstocks, bulbs, tubers and other underground per- 
ennating organs. A number of our noxious weeds are propagated by 
running, or creeping roots, such as, milkweed {Asclepias cornuti), bindweed 




Fig. III. — Clump of dandelion {Taraxacum officinale) on a sand lot at Belmar, 
N. J., June 23, 1919. The clump was one foot high with 213 leaves and 40 head-bearing 
scapes. 

{Convolvulus arvensis), sheep sorrel (Rumex Acetosella), Indian hemp 
{Apocynum cannabinum) and pasture thistle (Cirsium). Many weeds are 
propagated by subterranean stems or rhizomes. The list includes quack 
grass {Agropyron repens), poison ivy {Rhus rad leans), morning glory 
{Convolvulus sepiiim) . 

5. Crown weeds. These have usually a deeply penetrating tap root, 
which produces shoots around its margin, when cut ofT close to the ground 
by a lawn mower, or mowing machine. The dandelion (Taraxacum 
officinale, (Fig. in) ribgrass (Plantago lanceolata), curled dock (Rumex 
crispus) are crown weeds. 



weeds and weed control 255 

Destruction of Weeds 

The destruction of weeds may be accomplished in a number of ways. 
All of these are based on a scientific study of the vitality, morphological 
structure and growth of the common weeds of farm and garden. The 
following are the approved methods of controlling and exterminating 
weeds. 

1. It is important to prevent the production of seeds in the attempt to 
control weeds. It has been shown that some weed seeds have great vitality. 
De Candolle, who first carried on experiments along this line, showed this 
is especially true of the seeds belonging to the families LeguminoscB and 
Makacecs. Becquerel later studied the vitality of seeds and he found 
that of 550 species investigated by him that the age of the seeds varied 
from 125 to 135 years and that a few of the old seeds especially of the pulse 
and mallow families germinated on trial. Ewart found that 6 per cent, 
of the seeds of the common Indian mallow germinated after the lapse of 
57 years and seeds of the white clover after 77 years and chicory after 
10 years. The most noteworthy experiments were performed by Prof. 
W. J. Beal of the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station in testing the 
vitality of seeds at intervals of five, ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five 
years. The seeds were placed in sand in bottles slanting downward so 
that water could not enter. These bottles were buried in the soil twenty 
inches below the surface. The following seeds germinated on each of the 
trials separated by five year intervals up to the twenty-fifth year, ^ima- 
ranthus retroflexus, Brassica nigra, Capsella'bursa-pastoris, Lepidium vir- 
ginicum, Anthemis cotula, Oenothera biennis, Polygonum hydropiper, 
Portulaca oleracea, Rumex crispus. Stellaria media. Verhascum thapsus. 
Success in exterminating weeds, where the seeds retain their vitality for 
twenty-five years in the soil, is only the result of eternal vigilance in pre- 
venting seed production. 

2. Weeds should be cut repeatedly, so as to exhaust the reserve sup- 
plies of food stored in the underground parts. The underground parts 
are thus starved to death. 

3. The soil should be cultivated intensively so as to root up and de- 
stroy the growing weeds. 

4. The ground should be occupied by some cover crop which by the 
density of its growth will crowd out the weeds. Larger heavier crops mean 
fewer weeds. 



256 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

5. The sugar cane crop in the Hawaiian islands was formerly invaded 
by troublesome weeds. These have been exterminated by covering the 
planted cane with thick felt paper, which smothers the weeds of the cane- 
fields, but permits the sharp points of the growing cane stems to push 
through into the sunlight. The paper used for this purpose was formerly 
imported into the islands, but is now manufactured out of the fiber ob- 
tained from the sugar cane stems, that have been through the sugar 
mills and from which the sugar has been extracted. 

6. Soils are sometimes sour and as a consequence have a particular 
weed flora, which will disappear, if the land is judiciously treated with 
lime. 

7. Some weeds flourish in a wet soil, so that thorough drainage of 
such soils will lead to the disappearance of the troublesome plants. 

8. The farmer should take the precaution of buying only pure seeds 
and in having those seeds tested (see next chapter), as many weeds are 
introduced by the sowing of agricultural seeds containing a considerable 
number of weed seeds. 

9. It has been suggested without any trial on a large scale that weeds 
might be exterminated by inoculating them with pure cultures of destruc- 
tive parasitic fungi. As possible fungi for trial may be mentioned the rust 
of Canada thistle {Puccinia siiaveolens) and the spot disease of smart 
weed (Septoria polygomim). 

10. The application of chemical herbicides has been tried success- 
fully in some cases. 

Common Salt {Sodium chloride). — This is the cheapest, handiest and 
safest of herbicides. 

Copperas {Iron sulfate). — This chemical is comparatively cheap and 
as an herbicide. It should be used as a spray. 

Bluestone {Copper sulfate). — This is used in solution of twelve pounds 
of copper sulfate to a barrel of water (52 gallons). 

Carbolic Acid {Phenol). — This, because of its cost, can be used only 
in small areas. 

Caustic Soda {Sodium hydrate). — This is better than carbolic acid for 
killing poison ivy. 

Corrosive sublimate {Mercuric bichloride). — One ounce of chemical 
to six gallons of water. 

Arsenite of Soda.— A very active poison used in a solution which is 
sprayed on the plants. 



WEEDS AND WEED CONTROL 257 

11. There are several other precautions which should be taken in the 
control of weeds. One of these is care to prevent the introduction of 
weeds in the manure used as a fertilizer and in the hay and straw brought 
on to the farm. 

12. Pasturing weed infested fields will help to keep the weeds in check, 
especially , if sheep are allowed to browse in the weedy pastures. Goats are 
more omnivorous than sheep. 

13. The open fields may be burned repeatedly, when the herbage is 
dry, and this annual conflagration aids in keeping the weeds in check. 

Weed Legislation 

Weed destruction and control requires individual and collective, or 
communal effort. This arises from the manner of the dispersal of weed 
seeds. If one farmer neglects his farm and allows the weeds to get the 
mastery, his neighbors' fields will be covered by the dispersion of 
the weed seeds in all directions. This fact and the perversity of human 
nature necessitates that laws be made to control the weed problem of 
state or community. Many American states have adopted weed stat- 
utes. To be effective a weed law must be specific with respect to the weeds 
to be destroyed, while the dates assigned for work and the methods em- 
ployed must be adapted to these plants. It must be open to change as 
to the plants named in the law, because there is the constant introduction 
of new and troublesome weeds. A weed law should furthermore, impose 
weed destruction in such manner as to lay the least burden, while at the 
same time fixing the responsibility upon the persons using the land, who are 
benefitted by it. A weed law must be operative. The careless user of 
land is often an offender. A definite officer should be charged with the 
supervision of such matters as may come within his purview. 

Bibliography 

American Writer: Weeds. Gardeners' Chronicle & Agricultural Gazette. 1873, 

1419 (October, 18). 
Beal, W. J.: Michigan Weeds. Bulletin 267 (Second Edition), Michigan Agricultural 

College Experiment Station, Botanical Department, November, 1915. 
Gates, J. S.: The Weed Factor in the Cultivation of Corn. Bulletin 257, Bureau of 

Plant Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 191 2. 
Cox, H. R.: Wild Onion: Methods of Eradication. Farmers' Bulletin 610, U. S. 

Department of Agriculture, 1914. W'eeds: How to Control Them. Farmers' 
17 



258 . PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

Bulletin 660, 1915; Eradication of Ferns from Pasture Lands in the Eastern United 

States. Farmers' Bulletin 687, 1915. 
Darlington, William: American Weeds and Useful Plants. Second edition, New 

York, Orange Judd & Company, 1859. 
Dewey, Lyster H.: Weeds and How to Kill Them. Farmers' Bulletin 28, 1895. 

Legislation Against Weeds. Bulletin 17, Division of Botany, U. S. Department 

of Agriculture, 1896; Migration of Weeds. Yearbook of the U. S. Department of 

Agriculture, 1896, 263-286. Weeds and How to Kill Them. Farmers' Bulletin 28, 

second revision, 1905. 
DuvEL, J. W. T. : The Vitality of Buried Seeds. Bulletin 83, Bureau of Plant Industry, 

1905. 
Fernald, M. L.: Some Recently Introduced Weeds. Transactions Massachusetts 

Horticultural Society, 1905, Part I, pages 11-22. 
Forsyth, Alex: Weeds. Gardeners' Chronicle, new ser., viii, 408, Sept. 29, 1877. 
Georgia, Ada E.: A Manual of Weeds. New York, The MacMillan Company, 1914. 
Gray, Asa: Weeds. Gardeners' Chronicle, new ser., xii, 423, 455, Oct. 4, 1879, 
Hansen, Albert A. : Canada Thistle and Methods of Eradication. Farmers' Bulletin 

1002, 1918. 
Haskell, S. B.: Vitality of Buried Seed. The Country Gentleman, March 17, 191 7. 
Henkel, Alice: Weeds Used in Medicine. Farmers' Bulletin 188, 1904. 
Hillman, F. H.: Nevada Weeds. Bulletins 21, 22, 1893, 38, 1897, University of 

Nevada, Agricultural Experiment Station. 
Literary Digest: A Crop that Makes its Own Weed Killer. May 18, 1918, page 22. 
Pammel, L. H. : Weeds of the Farm and Garden. New York, Orange Judd Company, 

191 1. The Weed Flora of Iowa. Bulletin 4, Iowa Geological Survej', 1918. 
PiPAL, F. J.: Wild Garlic and Its Eradication. Bulletin 176, Purdue University 

Agricultural Experiment Station, 1914. Red Sorrel and Its Control. Bulletin 

197, 1916; Rabbit-proof Plants, List of. The Garden, I, 9, Nov. 25, 1871. 
Selby, A. D.: a First Ohio Weed Manual. Bulletin 83, Ohio Agricultural Experiment 

Station, 1897. 
Willis, J. J.: Vitality of Seeds Buried in the Soil (review of the work of W. J. Beal). 

Gardeners' Chronicle, new ser., xxv, 757, June 12, 1886. 
Woodstock, Charles M.: To Eradicate Moss from Grass-land. Gardeners' Chronicle 

& Agricultural Gazette, 1869, 671-72 (June 19). 
Suggestion to Teachers. — Teachers should have made collections of a number of 
the principal weeds and weed seeds, also illustrations of the same for class demonstra- 
tions. An attempt should be made to make an herbarium and set of dried weeds of 
the local flora, as the weed flora varies in difl^erent parts of the world. 

Laboratory Exkrcises 

1. Describe the dried or fresh specimens of the weeds handed to you making floral 
diagrams of the flower parts. 

2. Examine the fruits and seeds of a number of leguminous plants with especial 
reference to the structure, method of dehiscence and arrangement of seeds. 

3. Draw and study in detail the seeds of a few of the above plants, or any good 
substitutes. 



CHAPTER 1 8 
AGRICULTURAL SEEDS, SEED SELECTION AND TESTING 

General Considerations. — As the success of agricultural and horti- 
cultural operations, next to the preparation of the soil and a propitious 
climate, depends upon the character of the seeds which are sown, it is 
obvious, that for the seeding of the crop, the best seed is not good enough. 
With the seed sown to produce a given crop, if great care is not exercised 
in the selection of the seed, may go along weed seeds, the eggs of destruc- 
tive insects and the spores of destructive fungi. Hence, the farmer 
must be constantly on the alert to see that his seed is pure and without 
these objectionable concomitants. If the farmer does not select and test 
the seeds himself, he must delegate that work to another person, who as a 
trained botanist, is connected with some central seed control station 
maintained by a Cooperative Farmers' Association; or by the Agricultural 
Experiment Station maintained by the state, or the national government. 
The seeds, which are purchased for use, will have been passed upon by the 
specialists before they are planted by the farmers. This has given rise to 
pure seed acts by a number of the states, by the national government, 
and by the Canadian government looking to the control of the seeds which 
are purchased for use in the raising of thf crops upon which the prosperity 
of the states depends. 

History.— The idea of controlling the quality of seeds offered for sale 
in the market by scientific methods was put into operation at the first 
institution for testing commercial seeds established at Tharandt, Germany, 
in 1870 by Dr. Friedrich Nobbe, who published in 1876 a compendious 
treatise "Handbuch der Samenkunde" later to be followed in 1885 with 
"Landwirthschaftliche Samenkunde" by Dr. C. D. Harz, a work of 
1362 pages, published in two volumes. Other European stations were 
established and in 1877 the Connecticut Station began the testing of seeds. 
Omitting a consideration of the laws for seed control upon the statute 
books of the different states, reference to the more important available 
pamphlets on such laws will be found in the bibliography for this chapter, 
and we are free to proceed with a discussion of practical seed testing. 

259 



2 00 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

Apparatus for Seed Testing.^ — ^Most seed control stations have elabo- 
rate apparatus, which is used in the scientific study of the seed control 
problems. Such apparatus is described in various bulletins and text- 
books enumerated below and need not be described in detail here. The 
following apparatus is recommended for use in making purity and germina- 
tion tests. 

Purity Tests 

1. A chemical balance, weighing up to loo grams and sensitive to i 
milUgram, with accurate metric weights. 

2. A seed mixer and sampler. 

3. A nest of small copper sieves. 

4. A vertical air-blast seed separator. 

5. A reading glass mounted on a stand. 

6. A hand lens, magnifying from 10 to 16 diameters. 

7. A standard dissecting microscope. 

8. Botanical forceps and dissecting instruments. 

9. An authentic collection of the seeds of the principal weeds and 
cultivated plants. 

Germination Tests 

1. Standard, or Semper 's germinating chambers, equipped with low- 
temperature thermostats and thermometers. 

2. Blue blotting paper and canton flannel. 

3. Sterilized sifted sand and shallow greenhouse flats. 

4. Forceps. 

5. Blank Forms for Record and Report. 

Ordinarily such elaborate apparatus is not necessary for the simple 
experiments that a farmer ought to make in testing his seeds. He ought 
to have two dissecting needles, a small scalpel, a pair of forceps, a hand 
lens magnifying 16 diameters, a small chemical balance, a small graduated 
cyhnder holding about 100 cubic centimeters, a dinner plate, a small 
bell jar, and several mats made by sewing squares of blotting paper be- 
tween two pieces of canton flannel. 

Practical Seed Testing 

There are four fundamental points to be considered in practical seed 
testing. They are: 



AGRICULTURAL SEEDS, SELECTION AND TESTING 



261 



1. Whether the seeds belong to the species which it is desired to plant. 

2. Whether the sample is free from deUberate adulterations and from 
noxious weed seeds and other noxious impurities. 

3. Whether the sample possesses a high percentage of viable seeds and 
high vital energy, as shown by the rapidity with which germination 
takes place. 

4. Whether they are of at least average volume- weight. 

In determining the first point, whether the seeds belong to the specfes 
which it is desired to plant, a selected sample is spread out upon a piece 




Fig. 112. — Mixture of weed seeds commonly found in low-grade alsike clover seed: 
a, alsike clover; h, white clover; c, red clover; d, yellow trefoil; e, Canada thistle; /, 
dock; g, sorrel; h, buckhorn; i, rat-tail plantain; k, lamb's quarters; I, shepherd' s-purse; 
w, mayweed; n, scentless camomile; i, white campion; p, night-flowering catch-fly; 
q, oxeye daisy; r, small-fruited false flax; s, cinquefoil; /, two,kindsof peppergrass; ti, 
catnip; v, timothy; x, chickweed; y, Canada bluegrass; z, clover dodder; i, mouse-ear 
chickweed; 2, knot-grass; 3, tumbling amaranth; 4, rough amaranth; 5, heal-all; 6, 
lady's-thumb. (Enlarged.) {After Hillman, F. H.: The Adulteration of Forage-Plant 
Seeds. Farmers' Bulletin 382, 1909, p. 10.) 



of white paper and the seeds gone over one by one (Fig. 112). All foreign 
seeds, if any are present, are removed and later weighed. The percentage 
obtained by weighing will give the purity of the sample. In purchasing 
seeds in the market, we cannot expect to obtain the highest possible qual- 
ity, or 100 per cent, of real worth. One hundred per cent, is the ideal 
standard -of measurement and at best we can only hope to approximate it. 
Agricultural seeds, 99 per cent, pure, may be considered to be very high 



262 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

grade seeds, for with improved methods of farming, improvement In the 
purity of seeds is very rapid. 

The second point is determined in the same way, only particular at- 
tention is given to the removal of the weed seeds, which may be mixed 
in the sample. After all the weed seeds and other impurities are removed, 
their weight is taken and we can then determine the percentage of weed 
seeds present in the sample. The seed specialist goes further than this 
and determines the particular kind of weed seeds which are present. 
Constant practice and a knowledge of the different kinds of seeds will 
enable him in many cases to determine what seeds are present, but oc- 
casionally seeds are found, which he is unable to identify. The botanist 
then has recourse to illustrations and to the collection of seeds, which all 
well equipped seed laboratories have amassed for the purposes of such 
comparison. Unless the, seed is of an unusual kind, the identification 
» can be made quickly with such aids at hand. Inert matter in some seed 
tests are included in the final statement, as to the seed impurities. Inert 
matter includes dirt, stones, chaff, sticks and the like. One of the best 
laboratories of its kind in the United States is maintained by the Colo- 
rado Agricultural Experiment Station at Fort Collins, Colorado. The 
findings of the seed specialist there, as to the chief weed seeds in Colorado 
crop seeds, may be taken as a sample of the kind of work done in the test- 
ing of seeds taken from the Second Annual Report of the Colorado Seed 
Laboratory for 1918. 

The chief weed seeds in Colorado crop seeds are: Wild oats, black 
bindweed, rough pigweed, lamb's quarters, sunflower, field sorrel, Rus- 
sian thistle, and green foxtail. Other common weed seeds are wild 
mustard, Indian mustard, buckhorn, red-stemmed plantain, cow cockle, 
slender wheat-frass, prostrate pigweed, common ragweed, sedge, large 
mouse-eared chickweed, fetid marigold, barnyard grass, gumweed, pepper- 
grass, witch grass, spotted smartweed, five-finger, curled dock, pigeon- 
grass, and buffalo bur. 

There were 188 different kinds of weed seeds occurring as impurities 
in crop seeds. 

The analyses show the following most common impurities of the im- 
portant crop seeds sold in Colorado. 

Alfalfa. — Indian mustard, dodders, prostrate pigweed, tall pigweed, 
lamb's quarters, barnyard-grass, sunflower, gumweed, sweet clover, 
witch-grass, curled dock, Russian thistle, and green foxtail (Figs. 113 and 
114). 



AGRICULTURAL SEEDS, SELECTION AND TESTING 



263 



Barley. — Wild oats, black bindweed or wild buckwheat, and sunflower. 
Blue-grass.— Peppergrass, sour sorrel, chickweed, and sedges. 
Cane. — Russian thistle. 

Millet. — ^Tall pigweed, ragweed, lamb's quart.ers, sunflower, Russian 
thistle, smartweed, green foxtail, yellow foxtail. 




Fig. 113. — Alfalfa of good quality. Natural size and magnified 9 times. {After 
Brown, Edgar and Crosby, Mamie L.: Imported Low-grade Clover and Alfalfa Seed. 
Bull. Ill, Part III, Bureau of Plant Industry, 1907). 




Pig. 114. — Imported alfalfa of low grade. Natural size and magnified 9 times. 
{After Brown, Edgar and Crosby, Mamie L.: Imported Low-grade Clover and Alfalfa Seed. 
Bull. Ill, Part III, Bureau of Plant Industry, 1907.) 

Oats. — Wild oats, black bindweed or wild buckwheat, lamb's quarters, 
sunflower, and Russian thistle. 

Red Top. — Rugel's plantain, yarrow, sedge, rush, and five-finger (Figs. 
115 and 116.) 

Sorghums. — Pigweed, ragweed, sunflower, and Russian thistle, 

Sudan grass. — Tall pigweed, lamb's quarters, sunflower, Russian 
thistle, and buffalo bur. 



!04 



I'ASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 



Sweet Clover. — Slenckr wheat-grass, tall pigweed, lamb's quarters, 
sunflower, Russian thistle, and green foxtail. 

Timothy. — Rugel's plantain, peppergrass, and sheep sorrel. 




Fig. 115. — Red clover of good quality. Natural size and magnified 9 times. 
(After Brown, Edgar and Crosby, Mamie L.: Imported Low-grade Clover and Alfalfa Seed. 
Bull. Ill, Part III, Bureau of Plant Industry, 1907). 

The third point as to the vitaHty of the seeds, which the farmer pro- 
poses to purchase, can only be determined by an actual test of the power 
of germination of the seeds to be tested (Fig. 117). Some seeds, owing to 
the fact that the resting period has not been covered, refuse to germinate 



^r '^^^^K^^BSm 




p^j^j^j^^ju 



Fig. h6. — Imported red clover of low grade. Natural size and magnified 9 times. 
(After Brown, Edgar and Crosby, Mamie L.: Imported Low-grade Clover and Alfalfa 
Seed. Bull, iii, Part III, Bureau of Plant Industry, 1907.) 

when first planted, while other seeds, such as the clovers, will germinate 
twelve hours after the "harvest ripeness" stage occurs. In other cases 
sound and viable seeds are delayed in sprouting by an impermeable seed 
coat. In practical seed-testing, where one hundred, or more, seeds are 
placed in the germination chamber, or in a more simple way between the 



AGRICULTURAL SEEDS, SELECTION AND TESTING 



265 



wet blotter pads on a dinner plate (Fig, 118) under a bell jar, the following 
times may be taken as the ones in which more than one-half the seeds used 
may be expected to sprout: The cereals, clovers, opium poppy, cruci- 
fers, spurry, vetchlings and peas — three days. 

Cucurbits, beans, ilax, spinach, buckwheat, rye, wheat and timothy 
grass — four days. 




cot 




Fig. 117. Pig. 118. 

Pig. 117. — Seed and stages in germination of white bear (Phaseolus vulgaris). A. 
Seed with hilum; B, seed deprived of its coats. C, early stage of germination; ,D, later 
stage show epigeal cotyledons; epicotyl, hypocotyl and first foliage leaves; r = radicle; 
h = hypocotyl; e = epicotyl; cot = cotyledon; Iv = first true leaves; p = plumule. 

Fig. 118. — Homemade seed tester. A, closed: B, open. {After Brown, Edgar and 
Hillman, F. H.: Seed of Red Clover and its Impurities. Farmers' Bulletin 260, 1906, p. 8.) 

Oats, tall oat grass, canary grass, maize, meadow fescue and ray grasses 
— five days. 

Red top, sainfoin, beet, carrot (Fig. 119) and others — six days. 

Meado-^ foxtail, yellow oat grass, sweet vernal grass, peas, orchard 
grass— seven days. 

The volume-weight is obtained by weighing in the air the contents 
of a standard measure, such as. the bushel, or the hectolitre. This 
weight is more or less influenced by the shape and size of the seeds which 
permit them to form a more or less compact mass, and also by the 



266 PASTORAL AND AGRICULTURAL BOTANY 

shape of the vessel. Small sized, or withered seeds give a smaller vol- 
ume weight than large plump seeds. The number of seeds in any measure 
increases with the volume weight and the weight of the individual seeds 
decreases in like ratio. With cereal seeds the absolute weight of the 
individual seeds invariably increases with the volume weight. Chemical 
analyses show that the higher the volume-weight ,the better the edible 
quality of cereal, or starchy seed. Hence it is important to determine the 
volume weight. 

To estimate the real, or agricultural worth of a seed sample, we must 
combine the purity and viability percentages, thus: 

— ^ = Real, or Cultural Worth in terms of per cent. 

lOO ^ 

Means of Detecting Source of Seeds. — It is important to have a 
reliable means of detecting the source of supply of seeds. Wittmack was 




Pig. 119. — Wild carrot, c, natural size; o, b, front and edge views. {Taken from 
Seed Testing its Uses and Methods, North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station Bull. 
108, 1894.)^ 

the first scientific man to interest himself in this question, and in 1873, he 
recognized a red clover as American owing to the presence in it of seeds of 
Ambrosia. Sometimes the appearance of the seed itself — the metallic 
lustre of its coat^ — proclaims its origin. Stebler calls those weed seeds 
which indicate the origin of the seed source indi-jators. Other seeds not as 
reliable, but still helpful, he calls companion seeds. Of the weed seeds 
found in red clover a few such as ragweed, spurge, field dodder, Practed 
and black-seeded plantains, spiny sida, lady's thumb and vervain indicate 
the American origin of the seed in other words are source indiJators. On 
the other hand clover dodder (Fig. 120), scentless chamomile, wild mad- 
der and ox tongue indicate imported seed. Stebler recognizes the follow- 
ing seed supplying districts of the world and the source indicators. 

I. South European (South France, Italy, Spain). Coronilla scorpi^ 
aides and A mmi majus. 



AC.TtlCULTURAL SEEDS, SELECTION AND TESTING 



>67 



2. West European (Great Britain, N. France, Netherlands). Alopc- 
curus agrestis, Carum petroselinum. 

3. North American (United States and Canada). Panicwn capillare, 
Cuscuta arvensis, Rudbeckia hirta, Ambrosia arfemiscefolia. 




Fig. 120. — Mature dodder (Cuscuta) on an alfalfa stem. (After Mairs, T. I.: 
Some Soiling Crops for Pennsylvania, Bull. 109, Pennsylvania State College Agricultural 
Experiment Station, 1911, p. 13.) 

4. AustraHan (AustraHa and New Zealand.) Agrostis Fosteri, Dan- 
thonia semi-annularis. 

5. Asiatic (Syria, Turkestan). Silene dichotoma, Saponaria vaccaria, 
Glaucium corniculatum, Berteroa incana, Erysimum orientate, Hibiscus tri- 
onum, Anthemis austriaca, Car dims acanthoides. 



20.S I'ASTORAL AND AC.RICl' LTUUAL BOTAXV 

6. South American (Chili. Argentine Republic) CeratoMoa australis, 
Medkago denticulata, M. maculaia, Melilotus parviflora, Ammi visnaga, 
and Cuscuta raceniosa. 

Number of Seeds in Pound and Bushel.- — The number of weed seeds 
sown with agricultural seeds is astonishing. In one sample, that con- 
tained in all only one-fifth of one per cent, of spurious seeds, the number of 
weed seeds per pound averaged 990. In a bushel of 60 pounds there were, 
therefore, more than 59,000 weed seeds. A sample of clover seed offered 
on the Chicago market in 1898 for two cents per pound contained 338,000 
weed seeds per pound, or more than 20,000,000 per bushel. Hence, we 
are led to observe that low-priced seed may be expensive, when we con- 
sider, that it costs just as much to prepare the soil for poor seeds, as for 
good seeds, and if the seeds are poor the amount of labor later exerted in 
the extermination of the weeds more than offsets the initial expense of 
the seeds. Hence the farmer should g^ow the best seed that he can obtain 
on the market, even if the price is high. 

Slowly, but none the less surely, America is becoming the recognized 
center of the world's seed-growing industry. The need, therefore, of 
men scientifically trained in all phases of this industry is important for 
the future development of the seed industry. Whoever contributes to 
the education of these men contributes to the welfare of the state. 

Bibliography 

American Agriculturist: Testing Seeds. Gardeners' Chronicle, new ser., viii, 268, 

September i, 1877. 
Beal, W. J.; Seeds o£ Michigan Weeds. Bulletin 260, Michigan State Agricultural 

College Experiment Station, March, 1910; Seed Dispersal. Boston, Ginn & 

Company, 1900. 
Brenchley, Winifred E.: Buried Weed Seeds. Journal Agricultural Science, ix, 

1, 1-31, 1918; reviewin Journal Royal Horticultural Society, xliv, 164, May, 1919. 
Brown, Edgar: Alfalfa Seed. Farmers' Bulletin iq4,'I904. 
Brown, Edgar and Hili.man, F. H. : Seed of Red Clover and Its Impurities. Farmers' 

Bulletin 260, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1906. 
Clark, George H.: The Seed Control Act (Canadian). Bulletin No. S.i, Revised 

Edition, Dominion of Canada, Department of Agriculture, July, 1907. 
Dailey, Arthur T.: Seed Separation and Germination. Facts for Farmers, iii, No. 9, 

May, 1913. 
DuvEL, J. W. T.: The Vitality and Germination of Seeds. Bulletin 58, Bureau of 

Plant Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1904. 
GUPPY, H. B.: Studies in Seeds and Fruits. An Investigation with the Balance. 

London, Williams and Norgate, 191 2; Plants, Seeds and Currents in the West 

Indies and i\zores. London, Williams and Norgate, 191 7. 



AGRICULTURAL SEEDS, SELECTION AND TESTING 26q 

Haez, Dr. C. D.: Landwirthschaftliche Samenkunde Handbuch fijr Botaniker, Land- 
wirthe, Gartner, Droguisten, Hygieniker. Berlin, Verlag von Paul Parey, 1885. 

Hicks, Gilbekt H. and Key, Sothoron: Additional Notes on Seed Testing. Year- 
book, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1897, 441-452. 

HiLLMAN, F. H.: Dodder in Relation to Farm Seeds. Farmers' Bulletin 306, 1907; 
The Adulteration of Forage-plant Seeds.- Farmers' Bulletin 382, 1909. 

Hughes, H. D.: The Germination Test of Seed Corn. Bulletin 135, Agricultural Ex- 
periment Station, Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, February, 

1913- 
Jenkins, E. H., Hicks, G. H. and Others: Rules and Apparatus for Seed Testing. 

Circular 34, OflSce of the Experiment Station, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 

1897. 
Johnson, T. and Hensman, Miss R.: Agricultural Seeds and Their Weed Impurities: 

A Source of Ireland's Alien Flora. The Scientific Proceedings of the Royal 

Dublin Society, xii, new ser., 446, 462 with plates, July, 1910. 
Kruhm, Adolph: Growing Seed for the World. The Garden Magazine, December, 

1916, 164-16', ; The Romance of the Seeds. The World's Work, April, 1917. 
Lltbbock, Sir John: A Contribution to our Knowledge of Seedlings (two volumes). 

New York, D. Appleton and Company, 1892. 
McCarthy, Gerald: Seed Testing, Its Uses and Methods. Bulletin 108, North 

Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station, 1894. 
NoBBE, Dr. Friedrich: Handbuch der Samenkunde Physiologische Statitische 

Untersuchungen iiber der wirthschaftlichen Gebrauchswerth der land und forst- 

wirthschaftlichen, sowie gartnerischen Saatwaaren. Berlin, Verlag von Wie- 

gandt, Hempel & Parey, 1876. 
PiETERS, A. J.: The Farmer's Interest in Good Seed. Farmers' Bulletin 11 1, 1900; 

Red Clover Seed. Farmers' Bulletin 123, 1901; Seed Production and Seed Sav- 
ing. Yearbook, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1896, 207-216. 
Robbins, W. W. : Colorado Seed Laboratory. Bulletin, Vol. i , No. i , The Colorado Seed 

Act, Sept., 1917; No. 2, First Annual Report, December, 1917; No. 3, Second 

Annual Report, December, 1918; No. 4, Colorado Pure Seed Law, August, 1919. 
Sasscer, E. R. and Hawkins, Lou A.: A Method of Fumigating Seed. Bulletin 186, 

U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1915. 
Schmitz, Nicolas: The Germination Test of Seed Corn. Extension Circular 71, 

The Pennsylvania State College, School of Agriculture and Experiment Station, 

February, 1918. 
Stone, George E.: Seed Separation and Germination. Bulletin 121, Massachusetts 

Agricultural Experiment Station, February, 1908. 
Tillman, O. J.: Puritj^ and Germination of Agricultural and Vegetable Seeds Sold in 

North Carolina. The Bulletin of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, 

Division of Botany, Vol. 32, No. 10, October, 1911. 
True, A. C: Rules and Apparatus for Seed Testing. Circular 34 (revised), Office 

of the Experiment Stations, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1906. 
Weed, Clarence Moores: Seed-travellers. Studies of the Methods of Dispersal of 

Common Seeds. Boston, Ginn & Co., 1899. 



270 pastoral and agricultural botany 

Laboratory Work 

Suggestions to Teachers. — It is desirable, iilthough probably not feasible on account 
of lack of time, for the students to make a collection of weed seeds. These can be 
kept in vials in the manner indicated in the laboratory work at the end of Chapter 12. 
A collection of forty-eight weed seeds, or twice that number, if two boxes of vials are 
used instead of one, will be very helpful in the identification of doubtful weed seeds. 

The botanical laboratory, where agricultural botany is taught, might form an 
agricultural collection, such as is outlined in a bulletin issued by the College of Agri- 
culture, Agricultural Extension Service, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, 
November, 19 15. An outline of the suggestions in Project Announcement No. 2 is 
given herewith. 

Agricultural Collections tor Laboratories 

Farm Crops Laboratory Material 

Mounted Laboratory Material 
Sets 
I. Types of wheat. Spikes and threshed grain. 
II. Varietal types of common wheat. 

III. Types of oats. Panicles and threshed grain. 

IV. Types of barley. Spikes and threshed grain. 
V. Types of clovers. Head and threshed grains. 

VI. Sorghum types. 

VII. Economic grasses. Spikes and panicles with threshed seeds. 
VIII. Botanical types of corn. 
IX. Varieties and types of millets. ^ 

X. Miscellaneous cereals. 

XI. Seeds of miscellaneous forage, root, fiber and other plants. 

XII. Pathological specimens of loose smut of wheat, covered smut of wheat, loose 
smut of barley, smuts of corn and oats, etc. 
In addition to the above, there should be accumulated book illustrations, photo- 
graphs, score cards and maps showing distribution and economic importance of the 
various crop plants. 

The teacher should have on hand several pounds of commercial seeds purchased 
in the open market, such as alfalfa, red clover, wheat, rye and oats. These are accumu- 
lated for use in the following exercises. 

Laboratory Exercises 

I. Small measured quantities, either by volume, or by weight, of some seed sample 
(as above) should be distributed to every student in the class, who should make an 
analysis of the samples distributed. The good seeds should be placed in one pile, 
the weed seeds in another, and the impurities in a third. An estimate should then be 
made of the percentages of purity of each of the samples. 



AGRICULTURAL SEEDS, SELECTION AND TESTING 271 

2. The weed seeds, separated as above, should then be identified Ijy the use of 
illustrations and comparison with the laboratory collection of weed seeds. 

3. Seeds, which germinate quickly (3-4 days), should be used for the purpose of 
testing the viability of seeds and learning the technique of the test. The simplest ar- 
rangement is to use the blotter pads previously described by placing alternately wet pads 
and layers of seeds between two deep soup dishes, one of them being inverted over the 
other (Fig. 118). The rag doll seed tester may also be used. Secure muslin cloth of a 
good quality and tear into strips from eight to ten inches wide and three to five feet 
long. Where these strips are to be used very much, the edges should be hemmed to 
prevent raveling. Squares can then be marked with a heavy pencil on the cloth, so 
that they have a three inch side. The seeds are then placed on the square and the 
cloth rolled up, so as to inclose the seeds. The whole roll is then placed in water for 
a few hours and then removed and kept moist until germination begins. In both of 
these methods of testing the germination of seeds, if one hundred seeds are used, the 
number that germinate within the specified time will give the exact percentage^of 
viability without calculation. 



GLOSSARY AND INDEX 

No attempt is made to form a complete glossary of terms, but only those words 
are included which might give trouble to the reader of the book. 



Aaronson, Aaron and discovery of wild 

wheat, 165 
Abdomen, the large inferior cavity of the 

trunk of the human bodj'. 
Abortives, 12 
Abrin, 19 

Abrus precatorius, 185 
Abutilon Theophrasti, 244 
Acacia, 184; arabica, 185; senna, 185 
Accumulation of nitrogen, 218 
Achene, a one-seeded, seed-like fruit. 
Aconin, 59 
Aconite, 230; as a poisonous plant, 58; 

poisoning symptoms, 58 
Aconitin, 59; test for, 69 
Aconitum columbianum as a poisonous 

plant, 58; Napellus, cases of poisoning 

by, 58 
Adobe, clay or soil from which sun-dried 

bricks are made; sun-dried bricks. 
Adrenalin, 16 
Adsuki bean, 20'/ 
Aegagropilae, 3 

Aerobic, requiring oxygen in order to live. 
Aeschynomene spinulosa, 184 
Aestivation, the arrangement of parts in 

the bud of the flowers. 
Agave americana, 230; rigida var. sisa- 

lana, 230; sisalana, 230 
Age of plant, influence of, 13 
Agricultural collections, 270 
Agricultural seeds, general considerations, 

259 
Agropyron repens, 254 
Agrostemma Githago as a poisonous plant, 

57 

18 273 



Agrostemin, 58 

Agrostis alba, 136; var. stolonifera, 136; 
var. vulgaris, 136; canina, 137; Fos- 
teri, 267 

Aino millet, 147 

Ala, a wing petal in the papilionaceous 
flower. 

Albuminous, pertaining to a seed with the 
reserve food outside of the embryo. 

Aleppo grass, 145 

Alfalfa, 184, 187; and Varro, 187; com- 
position of, 191; description of, 188; 
flowers, tripping of, 189; harvesting, 
190; Grimm, 189; number of cuttings, 
188; original home of, 187; planting, 
190; seed, impurities of, 262; seeding, 
187; soil, 190; treatment, 190; use 
as a feed, 190; varieties of, 189 

Alkaloids, 18 

Alligator pear, 236 

Allium ascalonicum, 227; cepa, 226; fis- 
tulosum, 227; porrum, 227; sativum, 
226; schoenoprasum, 227 

Almond, 232 

Alopecurus agrestis, 267; pratensis, 138 

Alsike clover, 193 

Alternation of nitrogen-storing and ni- 
trogen-consuming plants, 237 

Amanita muscaria, 33; phalloides, 35 

Amanita-toxin, 36 

Amaranthus retroflexus, 255 

Amaurotic, relating to the condition of 
partial or total loss of vision. 

Ambrosia artemisijefolia and hay-fever, 
112, 243, 267; psilostachya and hay- 
fever, 112; trifida and hay-fever, 112 



74 



INDF-X 



America as center of world's seed indus- 
try, 268 

Ammi majus; 266 visnaga, 268 

Ammophila arenaria, 142 

Amount of poison, variation in, 14 

Amygdalii?, 67; hydrolj-sis of, 19 

Amylose, any one of a certain group of 
the carbohydrates including cellu- 
lose, dextrin, glycogen and starch. 

Anaerobic, capable of living without free 
oxygen (air). 

Ananas sativa, 235 

Anemonic acid, 59 

Anemonin, 59 

Andromedotoxin, 95 

Andropogon muricatus, use of roots of, 
129; Sorghum, 236; poisoning by, 

45 

Annona squamosa, 235 

Annulus, a ring usually found on the stalk 
of toadstools. 

Anthemis austriaca, 267; cotula, 255 

Anthoxanthum odoratum, 140; and hay- 
fever, 112 

Anthyllis vulneraria, 212 

Antibody, a substance which counter- 
acts, or neutralizes, a poisonous body 
or toxin. 

Antibodies, 21 

Antidote, an agent counteracting or pre- 
venting the action of a poison. 

.\ntitoxin, a substance formed in the body 
of animals which neutralizes the 
toxins, or poisons, formed in these 
organisms. 

.\ntitoxins, 21 

Apium graveolens, 225, 229 

Apocarpous, that condition of the pistil 
of the flower in which the carpels are 
distinct. 

Aposepalous, distinct sepals. 

Apocynum cannabinum, 254 

Apparatus for seed testing, 260 

Appetite, depraved, 15 

Apple, 231 

Apricot, 232 



.A.rachis, 184; hypogaea, 205 

Aragallus (Oxytropis) Lambertii as a 

poisonous plant, 74 
Aralia cordata, 227 

Arbutin in leaves of ericaceous plants, 97 
Arctium lappa, 254 
Areca catechu, 237 
Arracacha, 226; esculcnta, 226 
Artemisia biennis, 244; frigida, 150; 

heterophylla and hay-fever, 1 1 2 
Artichoke, 213, 230 
Artocarpus incisa, 235 
Arundinaria nitida, 227 
Asclepias cornuti, 254; verticillata as a 

poisonous plant, 99 
Ash pumpkin, 232 
Asparagus, 227 
Asparagus bean, 200 
Asparagus officinalis, 227 
Aspergillosis, 2 
Aspergillus fumigatus, i ; pathogenicity of, 

I 
Asphyxia, a condition of the body often 

resulting in death where the blood is 

not properly supplied with oxygen. 
Asphyxiation, 51 
Asthenia, absence or general loss of 

strength. 
Asthenics, 11 
Astragalus diphysus as a poisonous plant, 

75; gummifer, 185; mollissimus as a 

poisonous plant, 74 
Ataxia, the incoordination of muscular 

action. 
Atropin, 11; forms of, 16 
Audibert, M., mentioned, 80 
Australian salt bush, 212 
Available energy, 121 
Avena fatua, 162; nuda, 162; orientalis, 

162; sativa, 162 
Avivectent, said of fruits and seeds which 

are distributed by being voided by 

birds in their feces. 
Awn, the bristle or beard attached to cer- 
tain chaffy scales beneath the flowers 

of grasses. 



INDEX 



275 



Bacillus radicicola, activitj' of, 220 

Bacteriolysins, 21 

Bacteria of nitrification, 218 

Bacteroids, 220 

Ballast, material carried on vessels to bal- 
ance and steady them in the sea-way. 

Balls of cactus spines, 6 

Balsam of Peru, 185 

Balsam of Tolu, 184 

Bamboo, 227 

Bamboos, uses of, 129 

Bambusa arundinacea, 227; vulgaris, 227 

Banana, 235 

Banner oats, 162 

Baptisia tinctoria, 185 

Barley, 128, i68; cultivation of, 169; de- 
scription of, 168; production, 155; 
rotation, 170; seed impurities of, 
263; six-rowed, 168; two-rowed, 168 

Beal, W. J., experiments with seeds, 247; 
experiments on vitality of buried 
seeds, 255 

Bean, hyacinth, 212 

Beans, 184 

Bear-grass, 213 

Beet, 225 

Beggar- weed, 212 

Belladonna, 99, 230 

Benincasa cerifera, 232 

Berberin, 65 

Beri-beri, a dropsical complaint with 
other accompaniments common in 
Ceylon, India and Japan. 

Beri-beri, 46 

Bermuda grass, 129, 144; origin of, 144; 
seeding of, 145 

Berseem, 2x2 

Berteroa incana, 267 

Beta vulgaris, 225 

Betain, 19 

Betel, 237 

Bezoar, etymology of, 4 

Bindweed, 254 

Bird's foot trefoil, 212 

Bittersweet as a poisonous plant, loi 

Blackberry, 25^ 



Black grama, 148 

Black locust, 184, 185; as a poisonous 

plant, 70 
Blotter test for seeds, 271 
Blueberry, 234 
Bluegrass, Canadian, 135; Kentucky, 133; 

seed impurities, 263 
Blue-joint grass, 139 
Blue loco weed, 75 
Bluestem wheat, 167 
Boehm, studies of, 89 
Boehmeria nivea, 228 
Boerner, Dr. F., mentioned, 93 
Bonavist, 212 
Bouteloua aristoides, 148; curtipendula, 

148; eriopoda, 148; gracilis, 147; hir- 

suta, 148; oligostachya, 147; Parryi, 

148 
Bowstring hemp, 230 
Box, as a poisonous plant, 79 
Bradley, Helen, poisoned by Jimson weed, 

100 
Bract, the subtending leaf of a flower. 
Bracteate, having bracts. 
Branching of grass stems, 133 
Brassica campestris, 225; chinensis, 229; 

napus, 225; nigra, 255; oleracea var. 

botrytis, 230; var. capitata, 229; var. 

caulo-rapa, 227; var. gemmifera, 229; 

var. viridis, 229 
Bread fruit, 235 
Bread wheat, 165 

Breath of milk-sick animals described, 105 
Broad bean, 184, 207 
Broccoli, 230 
Brome grass, smooth, 139 
Bromus inermis, 139; tectorum injury by, 

2 
Bronchomycosis, an affection of the bron- 
chial tubes due to fungi, i 
Bjroom as a poisonous plant, 70 
Broom corn, 128, 236 
Broom corn millet, 147 
Brownlow, Mr. C. V., mentioned, vii 
Brussels sprouts, 229 
Buchloe dactyloides, 148 



276 



INDEX 



Buchu, 230 

Buckwheat, cultivation of, 175; descrip- 
tion of. 174; yield of, 175 

Buffalo grass, 148, 149; analysis of, 149 

Bugloss, viper's, 249 

Bulh crops, 226 

Bulbilis dactyloides, 148 

Bulliform cells of grass leaves, 125 

Bunch grasses, 124 

Bur clover, 187, 207 

Burdock, 254 

Burma bean as a poisonous plant, 71 

Burnet, 213 

Burns, Prof. Geo. P. quoted. 244 

Buttercup as a poisonous plant, 59 

Buxin, 79 

Buxus sempervirens as a poisonous plant, 
79 

Cabbage, 229 

Cactus spine balls, 6 

Csesalpinioidese, flowers of, 183 

Calamagrostis canadensis, 139 

Calico-bush as a poisonous shrub, 93 

California bur clover, 207 

Callus, hardened and thickened skin. 

Calorie, 120 

Caltha palustris, as a poisonous plant, 64 

Calyx, the outer whorl of floral envelopes. 

Camas, death, 47 

Camellia Thea, 229 

Campanulate, bell-shaped. 

Canada potato, 225 

Canada thistle, 252 

Canadian bluegrass, 135 

Canadian field pea, 199 

Cane, seed impurities of, 263 

Cannabis sativa, 228 

Cantaloupe, 2$2 

Caper spurge, 79 

Capitulum, 183 , 

Capsella bursa-pastoris, 248, 255 

Capsicum annum, 233 

Capsule, a dry, splitting seed vessel de- 
veloped from a pistil with united 
carpels. 



Carbohydrate, an organic compound con- 
taining carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, 
the two latter being in the proportion 
to form water. 

Carbohydrates in corn, 160 

Cardoon in Argentina, 246 

Carduus acanthoides, 267 

Carica papaya, 235 

Carob, 184 

Carpel, a leaf which represents one of the 
constituent parts of the pistil. 

Carpet weed, 243 

Carrot, 225; wild, 249, 254 

Carum petroselinum, 267 

Caryopsis, the fruit of cereals, or grasses. 

Cases of poisoning, seasonal distribution 
of, 14 

Cassava, 226 

Cassia fistula, 185 

Castilloa elastica, 228 

Castor oil, 237; medicinal uses of, 80; 
plant as poisonous, 80 

Cauliflower, 230 

Cause of hay-fever, in 

Celandine as a poisonous plant, 65 

Celeriac, 225 

Celery, 229 

Cenchrus tribuloides, injury by, 2 

Cerastium arvense, 246 

Ceratochloa australis, 268 

Ceratonia, 184 

Cereals, American, 155 

Cevadin, 51 

Chaetochloa italica, 236 

Character of organ, influence of, 13 

Chelerythrin, 65 

Chelidonium majus as a poisonous plant, 

65 
Chemical nature of poisoning, 16 
Chenopodium quinoa, 237 
Cherry, sour, 232; sweet, 232 
Chestnut, V. K., work quoted, 34, 58 
Chestnut and Wilcox mentioned, 72, 90, 

lOI 

Chia-peh-ho, 226 
Chick-pea, 211 



INDEX 



277 



Chickweed, 246, 252 

Chicory, introduction of, 246 

Chinese primrose producing skin erup- 
tions, 95 

Chinese sugar-millet, 128 

Chives, 227 

Chodat, R., quoted, 165 

Chongras, 55 

Cholin, 19, 34; graphic formula of, 17 

Chop suey, 207 

Chorizema, 181; ilicifolia for class study, 
185 

Chorogi, 226 

Chrosperma muscstoxicum, as a poison- 
ous plant, 51 

Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium, 231; 
leucanthemum pinnatifidum, 251; 
pyrethrum, 231; roseum, 231 

Chufa, 226 

Ciboule, 227 

Cicer arietinum, 211 

Cichorium endivium, 229 

Cicuta maculata, 87; species of, as poison- 
ous plants, 88; vagans, 87; virosa, 87 

Cicutoxin, 89 

Ciliate, provided with a fringe of fine 
hairs, or bristles (cilia). 

Cinchona, 228; calisaya, 228 

Cirrhiferous, 181 

Cirrhosis, the increase and thickening of 
the connective tissue of an organ, as 
of the liver. 

Cirsium arvense, 252 

Citron, 235 

CitruUus vulgaris, 232 

Citrus aurantifolia, 235; aurantium, 235; 
grandis, 235; limonium, 235; medica, 
235; nobilis, 235; sinensis, 235 

Classification of poisonous fungi, 37; 
of poisons, Bernhard H. Smith's, 10; 
of poisons, Blyth's, 9; of poisons, 
Robert's. 

Claviceps microcephala, 30; paspali, 30; 
purpurea, 28 

Climate, influence of, in formation of 
poisons, 13 



Clonic, pertaining to convulsive and 
spasmodic states of muscles in which 
contractions and relaxations occur 
alternately and involuntarily. 

Clover hair balls, 4 

Clovers, 184 

Clubwheat, 165 

Coca, 230 

Cocklebur, 243 

Cocoa, 236 

Cocoe, 226 

Coconut, 236 

Cocos nucifera, 236 

Coefficient of digestion, 119 

Coffea arabica, 236 

Coffee, 236 

Collard, 229 

Colchicum autumnale as a poisonous 
plant, 52 

Colchin, 52 

Coleosporium solidaginis, 31; description 

of, 33 
Collections, agricultural for laboratories, 

270 
Collections of seeds, 153 
Colocasia antiquorum var. esculenta, 226 
Coma, deep and prolonged sleep of an 

abnormal kind. 
Comatose, in the state of coma. 
Comfrey prickly, 213 
Common ragweed and hay-fever, 112 
Companion seeds, 266 
Complete, applied to a flower with all 

of the floral circles present. 
Concentrates, 118 
Concord grape, 234 
Conhydrin, 90 
Conicein, 90 
Conidiophores, 8 
Coniin, 90 
Conium maculatum as a poisonous plant, 

90 
Convallamarin, 52 
Convallaria majalis as a poisonous plant, 

52 
Convallarin, 52 



278 



INDEX 



Convolvulus arvensis, 254; sepium, 254 

Convulsives, 9,11 

Cook, O. F., and wild wheat, 105 

Copaiba, 185 

Copaiba oblongifolia, 185; officinalis, 185 

Copaifera, 184 

Cc^aiva balsam, 184 

Copal, 184 

Corchorus capsularis, 228; olitorius, 228 

Coriamyrtin, 89 

Corn, 155; cultivation of, 161; flakes, 160; 
of hybrid origin, 155; oil, 160; 

Corn cockle as a poisonous plant, 57; 
rotation, 161; sowing, 160 

Corn poppy, 66 

Corolla, the second usuallj' highly colored 
whorl of the flower. 

Coronilla scorpioides, 266 

Corsa, Mr. William P., hair ball from, 4 

Corymb, a flat-topped, indefinite flower 
cluster. 

Coryza, a catarrhal affection of the nasal 
passages and nearby sinuses. 

Cotton, 236 

Cotyledon, a leaf of the embryo; a seed- 
leaf. 

Couch grass, 128 

Coville, Dr. F. V., work of, 4 

Cowpea, 184; description of, 200; rota- 
tions, 201; utility of, 201; varieties 
of, 201 

Cox, work of, on tobaccos, 14 

Crab grass, 129, 252 

Cranberry, 234 

Crawford, Dr. Albert C, work of, 78 

Crimson clover, 194; hair balls of, 5; 
treatment of, 194; uses of, 195 

Crito, mentioned, 91 

Crop rotations, 223 

Crook's estimate of loss by sewage, 219 

Crotalaria juncea, 184; sagittalis, as a 
poisonous plant, 79 

Crotin, 19 

Crowberry, 55 

Crown weeds, 254 

Cucumis melo, 232 



Cucurbita maxima, 232; pepo, 232 
Cultivation, influence of inthe formation of 

poisons, 14 
Cultivation of corn, 160, 161 
Culm, 123 
Cumarin, 141 

Cunningham, Dr. A. E., mentioned, 109 
Curled dock, 254 
Currant, 233; black, 233 
Cuscuta arvensis, 267; racemosa, 268 
Custard-apple, 235 
Cyamopsis tetragonoloba, 212 
Cyanogenesis, the origin of prussic acid 

from a glucoside. 
Cyanosis, a bluish discoloration of the 

skin through the non-oxidation of 

the blood. 
Cyclamin, 20 
Cydonia oblonga, 232 
Cynara cardunculus, 246; scolymus, 230 
Cynodon dactylon, 144 
Cj-perus esculentus, 226 
Cypripedium hirsutum, as a poisonous 

plant, 52 
Cytisin, 71 
Cytisus canariensis, 185; scoparius as a 

poisonous plant, 70 

Dactylis glomerata, 137 

Daisy fleabane, 243 

Dais}-, ox-eye, 251 

Dalbergia latifolia, 184 

Dalmatian insect powder, 231 

Dandelion, 254 

Danthonia semi-annularis, 267 

Darnel, 46, 142 

Dasheen, 226, 229 

Dasylirion texanum, 213; Wheeleri, 213 

Date, 233 

Datura Stramonium, 100; Tatula, 100 

Daucus carota, 249, 254 

Dawson, Dr. Charles F., report of hair 

balls, 6 
Dead nettle, 252 
Death camas, 47 
Death cup, 35 



INDEX 



279 



Death of Socrates, described, 90-91 

De Candolle, experiments of on seeds, 255 

Decumbent, spreading on the ground, the 

apex tending to rise, said of stems. 
Decurrent, running down as wings, or 

ridges on the stem, as in some leaves. 
Deliriants, 9, 11 
Delphinin, 61 
Delphinium, species of, as poisonous 

plants, 60 
Delphinoidin, 61 
Delphisin, 61 
Dennison Manufacturing Co., .nentioned, 

154 

Dentate, toothed. 

Depraved appetite, 15 

Depressants, 11 

Dermatitis, an extensive group of skin 
inflammations characterized by red- 
ness, itching and frequently watery 
pustules. 

Desensitizing for poison ivy, 83 

Desmodium gyrans, 182 

Desmodium tortuosum, 184, 212 

Deubler, Dr. D. S., mentioned, 94 

Dewberry, 233 

Diadelphous applied to stamens which 
are united by their filaments into 
two distinct groups. 

Dicotyledons as poisonous plants, 55 

Dicotyledonous, having two cotyledons, 
or embryonic seed leaves. 

Digestion, 118 

Digestibility of feeds, 119 

Digitalis, 230 

Dioecious, the condition in which the male 
(staminate) and female (pistillate) 
flowers are borne on two distinct 
plants of the same species. 

Dioscorea alata, 226 

Dioscorides and plane tree, 6 

Diospyros kaki, 233 

Diospyros virginiana, 233 

Disk-flower, the central tubular flower of 
the head in the sunflower family. 

Distichy in grasses, 125 



Distinct, applied to parts of the same 
circle in the flower which are not 
united with each other. 

Dolichos lablab, 212 

Doctor-gum, 82 

Drench, a draught of medicine in veteri- 
nary practice. 

Dropsy, an abnormal collection of fluid 
in a cavity or part of the body. 

Drug plants of the Leguminosae, 185 

Drupaceous, applied to fruits with a stone, 
as in the peach. 

Dulcamin, 102 

Dura, 128 • 

Durian, 235 

Durio, 236 

Durio zibethinus, 235 

Durum wheat, 165 

Dye plants of Leguminosas, 184 

Dyspnoea, breathing which is difficult, or 
labored, arising from various causes. 

Dyssodia papposa, 244 

Earth apple, 225 

Ebracteate, without bract, or leaf, that 

subtends the flower. 
Echinochloa frumentacea, 236 
Echium vulgare, 249 
Eddo, 226 
Egg plant, 233 
Egyptian clover, 187 
Ehrlich, theory of, 20 
Eichornia crassipes, 246 
Einkorn, 165 
Eleusine indica, 246 
Emaciation, leanness; loss of fat and flesh 

of the body. 
Embelia acid, 95 
Emergency feeds, 213 
Emery, Dr. Z. P., observations of, 70 
Emmer, 165 
Emollient, a substance applied externally 

to soften the skin, or given internally 

to soothe an inflamed surface. 
Encouragement of leguminous crops, 223 
Endive, 229 



28o 



INDEX 



Endoconidium temulentum, 47 

Energy, available, 121 

Energy of food, 1 20 

English ivy as a poisonous plant, 87 

Ensilage, 117 

Epigastric, relating to the upper middle 

part of the abdominal surface. 
Equisetin, 40 
Equisetosis, 39 
Equisetum arvense, 39 
Erepsin, 118 

Ergot, 28-31; chemical nature of, 29 
Ergotism, 30; gangrenous, 30-31 
Ericaceae, as poisonous plants, 92 
Erigeron canadensis, 243 
Eructation, belching, 42 
Erysimum orientale, 267 
Erythrina suberosa, 184 
Erythrocyte, a red blood-corpuscle. 
Erythroxylum coca, 230 
Eschanzier, Dr. Francis, of San Luis, 

Potosi, Mexico, 6 
Esparto grass, 129 
Estivation, the arrangement of parts in 

the flower bud. 
Eucalyptus, 230 
Euchlaena mexicana, 155 
Eupatorium ageratoides, as a poisonous 

plant, 104; urticaefolium, 104 
Euphorbia Lathyris as a poisonous plant, 

79; marginata, as a poisonous plant, 

79; species of, as poisonous plants, 

79; splendens and its latex, 85 
European hemlock, as a poisonous plant, 

87 
Evening primrose, 248 
Ewart, experiments with seeds, 255 
Exalbuminous, with reserve food stored 

inside of the seed leaves (cotyledons) 

in the embryo of seeds. 
Exstipulate, without stipules, or basal 

outgrowths of the petiole of the leaf. 
Extravaginal branching, 123 

Fagopyrum esculentum, 1 74 
Fascicle, a close cluster; a bundle. 



Fat in corn, i6o 

Feces, dung, or the excretions of the 

bowels. 
Feeding et seq., 117 
Feeding standard, 121 
Feeds, 117 et seq. 
Feeds, nature of, 118 
Fenugreek, 185, 212 \ 
Fermentations, secondary, 15 
Fescue grasses, 140; meadow, 140; sheep's, 

140 
Festuca elatior, 140; ovina, i4o;pratensis, 

140 
Fiber plants of Leguminosae, 184 
Ficus carica, 233; elastica, 228 
Field pea, 199; Canadian, 190; cultivated, 

199; description of, 199; harvesting, 

199; utility, 200 
Field sorrel, 246 
Fife wheat, 167 
Fig, 23,3 

Flamboyant tree, 185 
Flax, 228, 236; New Zealand, 230 
Florets, 104 

Florida beggar- weed, 212 
Florida clover, 187 
Flowers for perfume, 230 
Fly agaric, 33 
Fly poison, 33 
Fodder, definition of, 177 
Fodder plants of the Leguminosae, 184 
Food energy, 120 
Forage plants, definition, 117; grasses; 

131; of the Leguminosae, 187; mis- 
cellaneous, 212 
Pox grape, 234 
Foxtail, meadow, 138 
Foxtail millet, 147 
Fragaria chiloensis, 233; vesca, 233;vir- 

giniana, 233 
Fruit crops, 231 
Fruit of Leguminosae, 183 
Fruits, tropical, 235 
Fun, Harold, recovery of, 88 
Fungi, poisonous, 28-39 
Furze, 212 



INDEX 



2»I 



Gadd, mentioned, 89 

Galen and plane tree hairs, 6 

Galega officinalis, 212 

Gamosepalous, sepals of calyx united. 

Garlic, 226 

Garden nightshade as a poisonous plant, 

lOI 

Garden plants of the Leguminosae, 185 

Garget, 55 

Gastro-enteritis, inflammation of bowels 

and stomach at the same time. 
Genista, 184, 185 
German millet, 147 
Germination tests, apparatus for, 260' 
Gillam and case of poisoned sheep, loi 
Ginger, 226 
Girasole, 225 
Githagin, 58 

Glaucium corniculatum, 267 
Glaucous, covered with a bloom so as to 

appear whitened. 
Glucose from corn, 166 
Glucosides, 19; transformation, 13 
Glume, one of the two lower scales of a 

grass spikelet. 
Glumes, 125 
Gluten from corn, 160 
Glycine hispida, 201 
Glycyrrhiza glabra, 185 
Goats and calico-bush, 94 
Goat's rue, 212 
Golden-rod rust, 31 
Gooseberry, 233 
Goose-grass, 246 
Gossypium barbadense, 236; herbaceum, 

236 
Grama, black, 148; grass, 147, 149; 

hairy, 148; rough, 148; side-oat, 

148; six weeks', 147 
Grape, 234 
Grape fruit, 235 
Grass forage plants, 131 
Grass habit, 122; pollen, 128; stems, 122; 

structure, 122-128 
Grasse in France, mentioned, 230 
Grazing of short-grass vegetation, 150 



Great laurel as a poisonous plant, 95 

Great ragweed and hay-fever, na 

Green manure, 223 

Green potato tubers, poisonous, 102 

Grimm alfalfa, 189 

Guar, 212 

Guayule, 228 

Guinea grass, 146; for tropical forage, 

147 
Gum arabic, 184, 185 
Gum kino, 1S4 

Gum plants of Leguminosae, 184 
Gum Senegal, 185 
Gutierrezia sarothrae, 150 
Gymnospermous poisonous plants, 42 
Gynophore, a stalk raising the pistil 

above the stamens. 

Habit of grasses, 122 

Haecker, work on feeding, 121 

Haematoxylon campechianum, 184 

Hair balls of crimson clover, 5 

Hairs of plane trees, injury by, 6 

Hairy grama, 148 

Hairy vetch, 210 

Hallucination, a high degree of subjective 
morbid sensation dependent upon a 
morbid stimulation of the cortical 
sensory centers. 

Hansom, Timothy, mentioned, 131 

Haptopliore, the anchoring group of the 
toxin molecule which is stable and 
possesses the power of binding. 

Haricot bean, 206 

Harris' work on toxins, 19 

Harshberger, Dr., A., and children poi- 
soned by Jimson weed, 100 

Harz, Dr. CD., work of, 259 

Hassock grasses, 124 

Haulm, 123 

Hawk weed, orange, 244 

Hay-fever plants, iii; remedies, 113; 
vaccine, 113, 114 

Hedera helix as a poisonous plant, 87 

Hederin, 87 

Hedysarum coronarium, 212 



282 



INDEX 



Helenium autumnale, 102; tenuifolium 

and bitter milk, 104 
Helianthus annuus, 213; tuberosus, 213, 

225 
Hellebore, white, 51 

Helvellic acid, 20, 37 

Hemagglutination, 27 

Hemerocallis flava, 230 

Hemoglobinuria, the presence of hemo- 
globin or red-blood coloring matter in 
the urine. 

Hem.olysins, 21 

Hemolysis, the destruction of the red- 
blood corpuscles, 20 

Hemp, 228 

Herbe sardonique, 59 

Herbicide, chemical, 256 

Herd, John, mentioned, 131 

Herd's grass, 131, 136 

Hermaphrodite, applied to the flower 
where the stamens and pistil are in 
the same flower. 

Heteropogon contortus injurj' by, 2 

Hevea brasiliensis, 228 

Hibiscus esculentus, 234; trionum, 267 

Hieracium aurantiacum, 244 

History of seed testing, 259 

Hoe cake, 160 

Hominy, 160 

Holcus odoratus and hay-fever, 112 

Holy grass, 129 

Honey poisoned by nectar of mountain- 
laurel, 94 

Hordeum distichon, 168; jubatum, injury 
by, 3; spontaneum, 168; vulgare, 168 

Horse bean, 207 

Horse nettle, 243, 250 

Horse radish, 225 

Horse-tail, 39 

Hosackia americana, 212 

Huang-hua-ts'ai, 230 

Human food, Leguminosae, as, 184 

Hungarian millet, 147 

Hunt, Harris F., work on cereals, 180 

Hyacinth bean, 212 

^yaline, transparent, or only partly so. 



Hydrocyanic acid, 67 

Hydrolysis, the decomposition of water 

during a chemical reaction. 
Hymenaea, 184 
Hyoscin, loi 
Hyoscyamin, loi 
Hypericum perforatum as a poisonous 

plant, 86 
Hypericum red, 87 
Hypocotyl, that part of the a.\is of the 

plant embryo immediately below the 

seed leaves, or cotyledons. 

Icterus, a rare disease of the liver with a 

wasting of the liver substance as- 
sociated with jaundice. 
Ilex paraguayensis, 229 
Immunization, the process by which an 

animal is rendered insusceptible to 

disease. 
Immunization, theory uf, 20-21 
Imparipinnate, pinnately compound with 

an unpaired terminal leaflet. 
Imperfect, a flower without one of the 

essential organs, either stamens, or 

pistil. 
Impurities, poisonous plants as, 15 
Incised, said of leaves the margin of 

which is deeply cut. 
Incomplete, without one of the floral 

whorls. 
Indefinite, numerous, applied to stamens; 

having indeterminate growth, as 

applied to flower clusters. 
Indehiscent, not splitting open. 
Indian corn, 155; and hay-fever, 112 
Indian hemp, 254 
Indicators of sources of seeds, 266 
Indigo, 185; wild, 185 
Indigofera, 184; tinctoria, 1^5 
Indurated, hardened. 
Inebriants, 11 

Infarct, an obstruction or plug. 
Inflorescence, the flower cluster. 
Inflorescence of grasses, 125; of Legumi- 
nosae, 183 



INDEX 



283 



Influence of age of plant, 13 

Intermittent, occurring at intervals. 

Intoxication, the resulting state from an 
overdose of poison. 

Intravaginal branching, 124 

Insect powders, 231 

Insertion, the place where the floral 
parts are attached. 

Involucre, the collection of bracts which 
surround branches of the inflorescence, 
or clusters of flowers, as in the sun- 
flower family. 

Involute, rolled inwards from the edges. 

Iporaoea batatas, 225 

Irregular, said of flowers in which the 
parts are of unequal shapes and sizes. 

Irritant poisons, 9 

Irritants, 12 • 

Italian rye grass, 141 

Jamestown weed, 100 

Japan clover, 187, 208 

Jasmine, 230 

Java bean, 71 

Jerusalem artichoke, 225 

Jervin, 51 

Jimson weed, 100 

Johnson grass, 145 

Jones, Jesse, Co., mentioned, 154 

Juglans californica var. Hindsii pollen as 

a cause of hay-fever, 114 
June grass, 131; adaptability of, 135; 

seeding of, 136 
Juniper, 43 

Juniperus communis, 43 
Jute, 228 

Kaffir, 128, 236 

Kale, 229 

Kalmia angustifolia, 92; latifolia, 93 

Kentucky blue-grass, 129, 133; a weed 

in New Zealand, 136 
Kino gum, 184 
Koernicke quoted, 168 
Kohl-rabi, 227 
Kolmer, Dr. John A-, mentioned, vii; 

esperiments with phytotoxins, 27 



Kowliang, 128, 236 

Kraemer, Henry, methods quoted, 97 

Krastov wheat, 167 

Kubanka wheat, 167 

Kudzu, 212 

Kus-kus, 129 

Lachnanthes tinctoria, the pigment in, 52 

Lacquer as a poisonous material, 81 

Lactuca sativa, 229 

Ladino clover, 196 

Lady slipper orchid, as a poisonous plant, 
52 

Lamb kill, 92 

Lanceolate, lance-shape. 

Larkspurs as poisonous plants, 60 

Latex in Euphorbia splendens, 85 

Lathyrus odoratus, 185 

Lathyrus sativus, 212 

Lathyrus tetragonolobus, 212 

Leaf crops, 229 

Leaves of grasses, 125; of Leguminosje, 181 

Lecheguila, 213 

Leek, 227 

Legislation about weeds, 257 

Legume, 183 

Leguminos£e, characteristics of, 181 ; roots 
of, 181 

Leguminous leaves, 181; crops as green 
manure, 223; crops, encouragement 
of, 223; forage plants, 187-217; 
stems, 181 

Lemma, the outer floral scale immediately 
beneath the grass flower. 

Lemma of grasses, 126 

Lemon, 235 

Lens, 184 

Lentil, 184 

Lepidium virglnicum, 255 

Lespedeza striata, 208 

Lethal, deadly, usually applied to doses. 

Lettuce, 229 

Ligule, the membranous outgrowth be- 
tween the blade and sheath* in grass 
leaves; rain-guard. 
Ligule of grasses, 125 . 



284 



INDEX 



Ligustrin, 96 

Ligustrum vulgare as a poisonous plant, 

Lilium Sargentiae, 230 

Lily of the valley as a poisonous plant, 52 

Lima bean, 206 

Lime, 235 

Linaria vulgaris, 250 

Linnaeus, opinions quoted, 192 

Linum usitatissinium, 228, 236 

Liquorice, 185 

Locality, influence of, 15 

Locoism, cause of, 78 

Loco disease, symptoms of, 78 

Locoweed, blue, 75; stemless, as a poi- 
sonous plant, 74; wooly, 74; in general 
!(> 

Locust, black, 184, 185 

Lodging of grass stems, 124 

Lodicules of grasses, 126 

Logwood, 184 

Loliin, 46 

Lolium italicum, 141; multiflorum, 141; 
perenne, 141; temulentum, 46 

Loment, 183 

Lotus corniculatus, 212 

Lupines as poisonous plants, 71 

Lupinidin, 72 

Lupinin, 72 

Lupinus cyaneus, 72; leucophjdlus, 72; 
luteus, as a poisonous plant, 72; 
perennis, 185; sericeus, 72; species 
of, 71 

Lycopersicum esculentum, 232 

Lyonia mariana, 95 

Meadow foxtail, 138; growth of, 139; hay 
of, 139; number of seeds per pound, 
138 
Meadow saffron as a poisonous plant, 52 
Mears, B. W. & Sons, letter from, 5 
Medicago, 184; arabica, 187, 207; denti- 
culata, 268; falcata, 189; hispidula 
derfticulata, 207; lupulina, 187, 212; 
sativa, 187; maculata, 268 
Medicinal leaves, 230 



Medulla oblongata, the upper enlarged 

part of the spinal cord. 
Meehan, Thomas, mentioned, 96 
Melilotus, 184; alba, 196, 254; parviflora, 

268 
Melon, 232 

Mendel, work on toxins, 19 
Mesquite, 184 
Mexican clover, 213 
MacDougal, D. T., and poisoning by 

Cypripedium, 53 
Macule, 53 
Maize, cultivation of, 160; description 

of, 156; embryo of, 158; grain of, 

157; origin of, 155; poisoning by, 45; 

production, 155; soils, 160 
Mangifera indica, 235 
Mango, 23s 

Manihot utilissima, 226 
Manila hemp, 230 
Marigold, fetid, 244 
Marram grass, 129, 142; as a sand binder, 

143 
Marsh, Dr. C. Dwight, mentioned, vii 
Marshall, Dr. C. J., and poisoned goats, 

94 
Marsh marigold as a poisonous plant, 64 
Mats, 229 

Matricaria suaveolens, 244 
May-apple as a poisonous plant, 64 
May's work on chemistry of synthetic 

drugs, 16 
Metabolism, 119 
Microbe-seeding of soils, 224 
Milk sickness, cause of, 109; in man, 

105 

Milkweed, 254 

Millet, 128, 236; Aino, 147; broom-corn, 
147, 236; fox-tail, 147, 236; Ger- 
man, 147; Hungarian, 147; pearl, 236; 
seed impurities of, 263; Siberian, 

147 
Milo, 128, 236 

Mimosa, flowers of, 183; pudica, 182 
Mimosoideae, flowers of, 183 
MoUugo verticillata, 243 • 



INDEX 



285 



Monadelphous, stamens united by their 

filaments into one cluster. 
Monkey and mountain-laurel, 94 
Monocotyledonous, with one cotyledon, 

. or seed-leaf in the embryo plant. 
Monocotyledons as poisonous plants, 45- 

53 
Monoecious, with male (staminate) and 

female (pistillate) flowers distinct 

from each other, but on the same 

plant. 
Mooting in grass stems, 124 
Morning glory, 254 
Morphin, 6'/; and Cicuta-poisoning, 90; 

test for, 69 
Morus alba, 233; nigra, 233; rubra, 233 
Mortaux vaches, 59 
Moth bean, 207 

Mountain-laurel as a poisonous plant, 93 
Mount Hermon and wild wheat, 165 
Mucuna pruriens as a dye plant, 184; 

utilis, 187, 209 
Mulberry, 233 
Mulhollen, Chester, death of, 88; Willard, 

recovery of, 88 
Mullein, 254 
Mung bean, 207 

Musa sapientum, 235; textilis, 230 
Muscadine grape, 234 
Muscarin, 19, 34 

Mycelium, a collective name for the vege- 
tative hyphae or threads of a fungus. 
Myco-bacterium rubiacearum, 222 

Naked wheats, 165 

Names, various, for milk sickness in cattle, 

105 
Narbonne vetch, 210 . 
Narcotic poisons, 9 
Narcotics, 10 
Nerianthin, 99 
Neriin, 99 

Nerium oleander as a poisonous plant, 98 
Nettle, Horse, 250 
Neurin, graphic formula of, 17 
New mown hay perfume, 141 



New Zealand flax, 230 

New Zealand spinach, 229 

Nicotiana tabacum, 230 

Nitrate bacteria, 218 

Nitrification, 218 

Nitrogen accumulation, 218 

Nitrogen, amount fixed, 222 

Nitrobg,cter, 218 

Nitrogen-consuming plants, classification 

of, 224 
Nitrogen, loss of, 219 
Nitrogen-storing plants, 220 
Nitrosococcus, 218 
Nitrosomonas, 218 
Nobbe, Dr. Friedrich, work of, 259 
Nodules of Leguminosae, 181 
Nodules on leaves of Rubiaceae, 222 
Nodules, types of leguminous, 220-222 
Nolina, 213; erumpens, 213; microcarpa, 

213 
Norton, J. B. S., observations of, 30 
Nutrient ratio of corn, 160 
Nutritive ratios, 119, 120 
Nutritive value of maize, 160 



Oats, 128; cultivation and yield, 164; 

description of, 162; production, 155; 

quality of, 164; rotations, 164; seed 

impurities of, 263 
(Edema, swelling, especially the effusion 

of serous fluid into certain tissues of 

the animal body. 
Oenanthotoxin, 89 
Oenothera biennis, 248, 255 
Oil from corn, 160 
Okra, 234 
Olea europaea, 232 
Oleander, as a poisonous plant, 98; 

skewers poisonous, 98 
Olive, 232 
Onion, 226 

Onobrychis, 184; viciaefolia, 187, 208 
Opuntia, 212; Engelmanni, spines of, 6 
Orange, 230; king, 235; sour, 235; sweet 

23s 



286 



INDEX 



Orchard grass, 137; cultivation of, 138; 

seeding of, 137 
Oregon hemlock as a poisonous plant, 87 
Ornithopus, 184; sativus, 208 
Osborne and Voorhees, i66 
Osborne, work of, on toxins, 19 
Otomycosis, an affection of the. ear due to 

the attack of a fungus, i ^ 
Ovary of Leguminosas, 183 
Ox-eye daisy, 251 



Paddy, 174 

Paigya, 71 

Palea of grasses, 126 

Palet of grasses, 126 

Pammel, L. H., mention of book on poi- 
sonous plants, 10 

Pampas grass, 129 

Panama rubber, 228 

Pancreas, a gland lying across the pos- 
terior wall of the abdomen secreting 
a fluid for the digestion of proteids, 
fats and carbohydrates. 

Panicle, an open and branched raceme, or 
flower cluster. 

Panicle oats, 162 

Panicum capillare, 267; maximum, 146; 
miliaccum, 147, 236 

Papaver dubium, 66; Rhoeas, 66; somni- 
ferum, 66; species of, as poisonous 
plants, 66 

Papaw, 235 

Paper from grasses, 129 

Papilionaceous, butterflj'-like, applied to 
a corolla such as the pea with stan- 
dard, wings and keel. 

Papilionoideae, flowers of, 183 

Pappus, the downy hairs crowning the 
ovary and achenes of the Compositae. 

Paraplegia, paralysis of the lower 
extremities. 

Parietal, attached to the inner walls of 

the ovary, said of ovules. 
Paripinnate, a compound pinnate leaf 
with a terminal pair of leaflets. 



Paroxysms, the periodic crisis in the prog- 
ress of disease; a sudden attack of 
pain or convulsion. 
Parsley, 229 
Parsnip, 225 

Parthenium argentatum, 228 
Pastinaca sativa, 225 
Pasturage, 117 
Pasture, 117 
Pasture thistle, 254 
Pavetta Zimmermanniana, 222 
Peanut, 184; cultivation of, 205; nutri- 
tive value of, 206; seeding of; 205; 
varieties, 205 
Pear, 231 
Pearl millet, 236 

Pearson, Dr. Leonard, mentioned, 30 
Peas, 184 

Pea, square pod, 212 
Peach, 232 
Pe-byangale, 71 
Peduncle, a flower-stalk. 
Pe-gya, 71 
Peh-ts'ai, 229 
Pellagra, 46 

Pennisetum glaucum, 236 
Pepper, 233 
Pepsin, 119 
Perennate, to reproduce vegetatively, so 

as to live perennially. 
Perennial rye grass, 141; adaptation of, 
141; seeds per pound, 142; sowing of, 
I4X 
Perfect, said of flowers which have the 
essential organs, viz., stamens and 
pistil. 
Perfume flowers, 230 
Pericarp, the wall of the fruit developed 

from a single pistil. 
Perigynous, the insertion of parts on the 
rim of the cup-like receptacle which 
is either free from the ovarj^, or 
attached to it halfway up. 
Peritoneum, the serous membrane lining 
the cavity of the abdomen and en- 
veloping the contained viscera. 



INDEX 



287 



Persea gratissima, 236 

Persian insect powder, 231 

Persimmon, 233 

Petiolate, having a petiole, or leaf 

stalk. 
Petroselinum hortense, 229 
Pfaff, Dr. Franz, work of, 82 
Phallin, 19, 20, 36 
Pharmacology, 41 ; work on, 69 
Phaseolunatin, 71 

Phaseolus, 184; aconitifolius, 207; acuti- 
folius, 207; angularis, 207; aureus, 
207; calcaratus, 207; lunatus, 206; 
as a poisonous plant, 71; multiflorus, 
207; mungo, 207; vulgaris, 206 
Phleum pratense, 131 
Phoeni.x dactylifera, 233 
Phormium tenax, 230 
Phyllotaxy, the arrangement of leaves on 

the stem. 
Phj'sostigma venenosum, 185 
Ph)'tobezoars, 3 
Phytolaccin, 56 
Phytolaccotoxin, 57 
Phytotoxins, 19 
.Picropodophyllin, 65 
Pictou cattle-disease in Canada, no; in 

New Zealand, no 
Pigweed, 252 
Pilas marinae, 4 
Pilocarpin administered, 100 
Pine-apple, 235 
Pine-apple weed, 244 
Pinnatifid, pinnately cleft, said of the 

margins of leaves. 
Pistil, the central female organ of the 

flower, consisting of carpels. 
Pistillate, of or pertaining to the pistil. 
Pisum, 184 

Pisum sativum var. arvense, 199 
Pita, 230 

Placentation, the attachment of the ovules 
or seeds to the inner wall, or central 
column of the ovary, or fruit derived 
therefrom. 
Plane trees, injury by leaf hairs of, 6 



Plantago lanceolata, 213, 254; as a rem- 
edy for poison ivy, 82 
Plantain, 235 
Plum, 232 
Plumose, plume-like; feather-like, beset 

with hairs like a brush. 
Pneumomycosis, 2 
Poa compressa, 135; pratensis, 133 
Pod, 183 
Podophyllin, 65 
Podophyllotoxin, 65 
Podophyllum peltatum as a poisonous 

plant, 64 
Pohl, work of, 89 
Poinciana regia, 185 

Poison dogwood, 81; elder, 81; hemlock, 
90; ivy, 80, 254; oak, 81; sumach, 81 
Poisoning and weather, 14; by .Amanita 
phalloides, symptoms of, 36; by 
muscarin, symptoms of, 34 
Poisonous fungi, classification of, 37 
Poisonous plants as impurities, 15 
Poisons acting on the brain, 10; acting on 
the heart, 11; on the spinal cord, 11; 
classification of, 9; conditions in- 
fluencing the formation of, 12; sea- 
sonal variation of, 13 
Poke, 55 
Pollantin, 114 
Pollen in grasses, 128 
Pollination, the act by which the pollen 
is transferred from anthers to stigma 
of the same, or another flower. 
PoUinosis, in 
Polish wheat, 165 
Polygonum hydropiper, 255; sachalinense, 

212 
Pomelo, 235 

Poppies as poisonous plants, 66 
Portulaca oleracea, 247, 255 
Posidonia oceanica, 4 
Post-mortem, an examination of the body 

after death; an autopsy. 
Post-mortem of animals killed by rag- 
wort, in 
Potato,. 225; as a poisonous plant, 102 



288 



INDEX 



Poulard wheat, 165 * 

Pricklj' comfrey, 231 

Prickly lettuce. 252 

Prickly pear, 212 

Primrose, Chinese, and skin eruptions, 
95; evening, 248 

Prince's feather, 244 

Pringle, Cyrus G., aunt of, mentioned, 244 

Privet, as a poisonous plant, 96 

Proso, 236 

Prosopis juliflora, 184 

Protandry, that state of the flower in 
which the anthers shed their pollen 
before the stigma is ready to receive 
it. 

Protopin, 65 

Protoveratridin, 51 

Protoveratrin, 51 

Provence cane, 129 

Prunus amygdalus, 2^2; armeniaca, 2^2; 
avium, 232; cerasus, 232; persica. 
232; serotina as a poisonous plant, 
67; species of, as poisonous plants, 67 

Prussic acid, poisoning by, 45 

Pseudomonas radicicola, 181; activity of, 
220 

Psychotria bacteriophila, 222 

Pterocarpus, 1S4 

Ptomaines, 18 

Pubescent, hairy with fine, soft down, or 
hairs. 

Puccinia suaveolens, as a rust of Canada 
thistle, 256 

Pueblo corn, 159 

Pueraria thunbergiana, 212 

Pulvinus, the swelling at the base of the 
leaves and leaflets of leguminous 
plants by which motion is accom- 
plished. 

Pumpkin, 232 

Pumpkin, ash, 232 

Purgation, the evacuation of material 
from the bowels as a result of the use 
of purgatives. 

Purgatives, 12 

Purging cassia, 185 



Purity tests, apparatus for, 260 

Purple vetch, 187 

Purslane, 247, 252 

Pustulation, a condition in which pustules, 

or blister-like vesicles are formed. 
Pyrus communis, 231 
Pyrus malus, 231 

Quack grass, 254 
Quince, 232 
Quinoa, 237 

Rachilla of grasses, 125 

Radicula armoracia, 225 

Radish, 225 

Rag doll seed tester, 271 

Ragweed, 243, 252 

Ragweeds and hay-fever, 112 

Ragwort as a poisonous plant, 109 

Rain-guard of grass leaves, 125 

Ramie, 228 

Raphanus sativus, 225 

Ranuncu lus acris, 59 ; bulbosus as the cause 
of skin eruptions, 59; Ficaria, 59 

Raspberry, 233 

Rations, iiS 

Ratios, nutritive, 119, 120 

Rattle-box as a poisonous plant, 79 

Rattleweed, 75 

Ravenel, Dr. M. P., mentioned, 2 

Ray-flowers, the flowers of a head which 
are marginal, or strap-shaped. 

Red cedar, 43 

Red clover, 191; cutting, 192; description 
of, 191-192; harvesting, 192; nutrient 
value, 193; pollination of, 192; treat- 
ment, 192; varieties, 193; yield of, 
192 

Red root as a poisonous plant, 52 

Red-top, 129, 136; seed impurities of, 263; 
sowing of, 137; yield of, 137 

Redwood, 43 

Reed, 129 

Reeder, Dr. W. C, mentioned, 58 

Reflex, the return of a nervous impulse, or 
a body. 



INDEX 



289 



Regular, applied to flowers in which the 
parts of the same whorl are alike in 
shape and size. 
Removal of animals to new locality, in- 
fluence of, 15 
Retching, to strain while vomiting; to 
suffer the spasmodic muscular con- 
tractions of the stomach during 
vomiting. 

Rheum rhaponticum, 229 

Rhizomes of grasses, 123 

Rhode Island bent grass, 129, 137 

Rhododendron californicurn, 95; cataw- 
biense, 95; cinnabarinum, 95; maxi- 
mum as a poisonous plant, 95 

Rhubarb, 229 

Rhus diversiloba, 81; metopium, 82; ra- 
dicans, 80, 254; toxicodendron, 80; 
vernicifera, as a poisonous plant, 81; 
vernix, 81 

Ribbon-grass, 129 

Ribes americanum, 233; aureum, 233; 
grossularia, 2;^^; nigrum, 233; oxya- 
acantha, 233; rubrum, 233 

Rib-grass, 213, 254; as a remedy for poison 
ivy, 82 

Rice, 128 

Rice bean, 207 

Rice cultivation, 173; description of, 172; 
distribution, 172; location of lands, 
173; production, 155; soils, 172 

Rich and Jones, work of, 39 

Richardsonia scabra, 213 

Ricin, 19, 80 

Ricinin, 80 

Ricinus communis, 237; as a poisonous 
plant, 80 

Ricketts, Dr. G. A., and poisoning by cow- 
bane, 88 

Roberts, Percival, herd of heifers of, 93 

Robin, 19 

Robinia pseudacacia, 184, 185; as a poi- 
sonous plant, 70 

Robinson, Martha, poisoned by Jimson 
weed, 100 

Robitin, 70 
19 



Roch's classification of poisonous fungi, 37 
Root crops described, 225 
Roots of grasses, 122 
Rose bay as a poisonous plant, 95 
Rosemary, 230 
Roses, 230 
Rosewood, 184 
Rotation of corn, 161 
Rotation, national system advocated, 237 
Rotations of crops, 223 
Rothamsted experiments, 224 
Roughage, 118 
Rough grama, 148 
Rubiaceae, nodules on leaves of, 222 
Rubber, 228 

Rubus nigrobaccus, 233; occidentalis, 233; 
strigosus, 233; trivialis, 233; villosus, 

233 
Rudbeckia hirta, 267 
Rumex Acetosella, 246, 254; crispus, 254,. 

255 
Russian thistle, 246, 252 
Russian vetch, 210 
Rust of golden-rod, 31 
Rutabaga, 225 
Rye, 128; cultivation, 170; description of,. 

170; production, 155; rotation of, 171 
Rye grass, Italian, 141; perennial, 141 



Saccharin, graphic formula of, 17 

Saccharum officinarum, 227 

Sachalin, 212 

Sainfoin, 184, 187, 208 

Salsify, 226 

Salivation, the formation of an excess of 

spittal, or saliva. 
Salsola kali var. tenuifolia, 246 
Salt bush, Australian, 212 
Sand vetch, 210 
Sanguinarin, 65 
Sanguisorba minor, 213 
Santonin, 89 
Saponaria vaccaria, 267 
Saponin, 58 , 

Sapotoxin, 20, 58 



290 



INDEX 



Sansevieria cylindrica, 230 

Scabrous, roughened. 

Scarlet runner bean, 207 

Schamberg, Dr. Jaj- and desensitization 

for poison ivy, 83 
Schmucker, Dr. S. C, mentioned, loi 
Sclerotium, a hardened compact fungous 
mycelium associated with the per- 
ennation of the fungus producing 
it. 
Scopolomin, loi 
Scuppernong grape, 234 
Scurvy, a disease, which occurs on land 
and sea, characterizied by spongy 
gums and other symptoms due to 
malnutrition, 46 
Seaside oats, 129, 143 
Seasonal variation of poisons, 13 
Secale anatolicum, 170; cereale, 170; 

montanum, 170 
Seed collections, 153-154; crops, 236; 

germination, rate of, 264-265 
Seeding of alfalfa, 187 
Seeds, agricultural, 259; comparison, 266; 
number of in pound and bushel, 268; 
real worth of, 266 
Seed tester, rag doll, 271 
Seed testing, apparatus for, 260; history 

of, 259; practical 260-262 
Senecio Jacoboea as a poisonous plant, 109 
Senegal gum, 185 
Senna, 185. 230 
Sensitive plants, 182 
Septoria polygonum, as a spot disease of 

smartweed, 256 
Sequoia sempervirens, 43 
Serradella, 184, 208 
Serrate, the margin with teeth pointing 

forward like a saw edge. 
Sesbania cannabina, 184; esculenta, 184 
Sessile, applied to leaves without a leaf 
stalk. , 

Shaddock, 235 
Shaftal, 212 
Shallot, 227 
Shallu, 128, 236 



Shantz, H. L., observations on short 
grass vegetation, 149 

Sheaths of grass leaves, 125 

Sheep-laurel, 92 

Sheep sorrel, 254 

Sheep's fescue, 140 

Shepherd's purse, 248, 252 

Short grass vegetation, 149; as an indi- 
cator, 149 

Siberian millet, 147 

Side-oat grama, 148; analysis of, 148 

Silage, 117; poisoning by, 45 

Silene dichotoma, 267 

Silo, 117 

Sisal, 230 

Six weeks' grama, 147 

Skewers of oleander, poisonous, 98 

Smilacin, 58 

Smith, E. Philip, recent work on hay- 
fever, 113 

Smooth brome grass, 139 

Snakeroot, white, as a poisonous plant, 
104 

Sneeze-weed, 102 

Soapweed, 213 

Socrates and the poison hemlock, 90; 
death of, 90 

Soilage, 117 

Soil, influence of, in formation of poisons; 

14 
Soiling crops, 117 
Soils for maize, 160 
Soja, 184 
Solanaceae, various poisonous plants of, 

9Q 

Solanidin, 102 

Solanin, 20, 102 

Solanum carolinense, 243, 250; dulcamara 
as a poisonous plant, loi; melongena, 
233; nigrum as a poisonous plant, 
loi; tuberosum, 225; as a poisonous 
plant, 102 

Sorghum, 128; poisoning by, 45; hale- 
pense, 145 

Sorghums, 236; seed impurities of, 263 

Sorgo, 128, 236 



INDEX 



291 



Sotol, 213 

Source indicators of seeds, 266 

Source of seeds, means of detecting, 266 

Sowing of corn, 160 

Soy, 184, 201; as a human food, 204; 
cultivation of, 203; description of, 
201; harvesting of, 203; nutritive 
value of, 204; protein content of, 203; 
rotations, 203; uses of, 204; varieties 
of, 201 

Spartein, 71 

Spatulate, broader at the apex and nar- 
rowed at the base like a spatula. 

Spelt, 165 

Spelt wheats, 165 

Spergula sativa, 213 

Spikelet, the ultimate division of a grass 
inflorescence. 

Spikelets of grasses, 125 

Spinacia oleracea, 229 

Spinach, 229; New Zealand, 229 

Spratt, Ethel R., work on leguminous 
nodules, 220 

Spurges as poisonous plants, 79 

Spurrey, 213 

Squamula of grasses, 126 

Squash, 232 

Squirrel-tail grass, injury by, 3 

Stachys Sieboldii, 226 

Stagger-bush, 95 

Stagger-grass, 51 

Staggerwort, 109 

Stamen, the male organ of the flower, its 
anther producing the pollen. 

Staminate, of or pertaining to the stamen. 

Standard of feeding, 121 

Staphisagrin, 6f 

Starch from corn, 160 

Stertorous, pertaining to deep snoring, or 
laborious breathing. 

Stebler's classification of source indica- 
tors, 266 

Stellaria media, 255 

Stem crops, 227 

Stemless locoweed, 74 

Stems of grasses, 123 



Stereo-isomerides, isomeric bodies in 
which the same atoms or radicals 
in tri-dimensional representations 
of the molecules are in different 
positions. 

Stinking Willy in Nova Scotia, 109 

Stipa capillata, injury by, 3 

Stipe, the stalk of a pistil; or of a toad- 
stool. 

Stipulate, having stipules or outgrowths 
at the base of the leaf-stalk. 

St. John's wort as a poisonous plant, 86 

Stool, the evacuation of the bowels; 
feces; in grasses, one of the shoots 
which arises in a cluster from the 
roots. 

Stools in grasses, 124 

Stover, 117 

Strawberry, 233 

Study of grasses, methods, 153 

Sublimation, 97 

Sublimable principles, 97 

Sudan grass seed, impurities of, 263 

Sugar cane, 128, 227 

Sulla, 212 

Sunflower, 213 

Susceptibility, individual, 15; specific dif- 
ferences, 14 

Swede turnip, 225 

Sweet cherry, 232 

Sweet clover, 184, 254; as a soil renovator, 
198; description of, 196; seed impuri- 
ties of, 264; nutritive value, 198 

Sweet pea, 185 

Sweet potato, 225 

Sweet vernal grass and hay-fever, 112 

Sweet vernal grass, 140 

Symmetrical, having the same number, or 
a multiple of the same number of 
parts in the three outer whorls of 
the flower. 

Symphytum asperrimum, 213 

Symptoms of poisoning by muscarin, 34 

Syncarpous, the condition of the pistil 
where its carpels, or divisions, are 
united together. 



292 



INDEX 



Syncope, a fainting, or swooning with a 
partial, or a complete, suspension of 
circulation and respiration. 

Syringin, 96 

Syringopicrin, 96 



Tamarind, 184 

Tamarindus, 184; indica, 185 

Tanaka, M., work of, 70 

Tannia, 226 

Tansy ragwort, 109 

Taraxacum officinale, 254 

Tare, 46 

Tares of Bible, 142, 210 

Taro, 226 

Tasaki, B., work of, 70 

Taxin, 42 

Taxus baccata, 43; brevifolia, 43; 

canadensis, 42 
Tea, 229 
Teasel, 254 
Telegraph plant, 182 
Tendriliform, 181 
Tenesmus, pain of the rectum, or bladder, 

with spasmodic contraction of the 

muscles associated with these parts. 
Teosinte as wild form of maize, 155 
Tepiary, 207 

Test for seeds, blotter, 271 
Testa, 166 

Tetragonia expansa, 229 
Theobroma cacao, 236 
Theory of Ehrlich, 20 
Therm, 120 
Thistle, Canada, 252 
Thistle, pasture, 254 
Thorax, the chest or framework of bones 

and soft tissues of the upper part of 

the body trunk. 
Thorn apple, 100 
Thunder-wood, 81 
Thyme, 230 
Tillering in cereals, 124 
Tillers in grasses, 124 
Timber trees of the Leguminosae, 184 



Timothy, 131; number of seeds in a 
pound, 131; rotations, 133; seeding 
of, 133; seed impurities of, 264; yield, 

Tires and slows, 105 
Toad-flax, yellow, 250 
Tobacco, 230 
Tolu balsam, 184 
Toluifera, 184; pereirae, 185 
Tomato, 232 

Tonic, characterized by continuous ten- 
sion; not clonic. 
Topinambour, 225 
Touch-me-not as a remedy for poison ivy, 

S3 
Toxicodendrol, 82 
Toxins, vegetable, 19 
Toxophore, that part of the poison mole- 
cule which carries the toxic group, 

see diagram on page 22. 
Tragacanth, 185 
Tragopogon porrifolius, 226 
Transformation of glucosides, 13 
Trefoil, bird's nest, 213; yellow, 212 
Trelease, Prof. William and cactus spine 

balls, 6 
Trembles, 105; cause of, 109 
Trifid, three-cleft. 
Trifolium, 184; alexandrinum, 187, 212; 

hybridum, 193; incarnatum, 194; 

pratense, 191; repens, 195; var. lata, 

196; suaveolens, 212 
Trigonella Foeno-groecum, 185, 212 
Trippers of alfalfa flowers, 189 
Tripping of alfalfa flowers, 189 
Triticum aestivum, 165; compactum, 165; 

dicoccum, 165; dicoccum dicoccoides, 

165; durum, 165; hermonis, 165; 

monococcum, 165; polonicum, 165; 

several species, 164; spelta, 165; 

turgidum, 165 
Tropical fruits, 235 
Truncate, appearing as if cut ofl' af the 

top. 
Trypsin, the enzyme of the pancreatic 

juice which digests proteids. 



INDEX 



293 



Tubercles of LeguminosEe, 181, 218 

Turkey wheat, 167 

Turnip, 225 

Tussock grasses, 124 

Tympanites, the condition known as 
"drum belly" where there is a dis- 
tention of the abdominal walls 
caused by a paralysis of the muscular 
coat of the intestines and their infla- 
tion with gas. 

Udo, 227 

Ulex europasus, 212 

Ulluco, 226 

UUucus tuberosus, 226 

Ultra violet light and skin of poisoned 

animals, 86 
Umbel, an indefinite flower cluster where 

the flower stalks all arise from the 

same point and are surrounded by a 

circle of bracts. Such clusters are 

generally flat-topped. 
Uniola paniculata, 143 
Unpalatable poisonous plants, 15 
Unsymmetrical, the parts of the flower are 

of diflFerent numbers in the difl'erent 

whorls. 
Urd, 207 
Uredospore, the summer, or repeating 

spore of the rusts. It is binucleate 

and unicellular. 



Vaccine for hay-fever, 113, 114 

Vaccinium corymbosum, 234; macrocar- 
pon, 234 

Vagus, the tenth cranial nerve which 
functions in sensation and motion. 

Valvate, applied to the parts of the calyx 
and corolla of a flower when they 
meet by their edges without over- 
lapping. 

Variation in amount of poison, 14 

Varro and alfalfa, 187 

Varro's work on agriculture mentioned, 
187 



Vasomotor, pertaining to the movement 
of the non-striped muscles of the 
arterial system. 

Velvet bean, 187, 209 

Velvet leaf, 244 

Venation, the framework of veins and vein- 
lets of a leaf with their arrangement. 

Veratramarin, 51 

Veratrin, 24, 51 

Veratridin, 51 

Veratrum viride, as a poisonous plant, 51 

Verbena hastata, 243; urticifolia, 243 

Vernal grass, sweet, 140 

Vertigo, giddiness, dizziness; the feeling 
of lack of equilibrium. 

Vervain, 243 

Vetch, bird, 212; chickling, 212; Dakota, 
212; hair}^ 210, 211; kidney, 212; 
Narbonne, 210; narrow-leaved, 211; 
purple, 187, 210; Russian, 210; sand, 
210; scarlet, 210 

Vetiver, 129 

Vexillum, the posterior large petal of the 
papilionaceous flower which over- 
laps the two lateral petals, or wings; 
the standard. 

Vicia, 1 84 ; angustif olia, 211; atropurpurea, 
187, 210; cracca, 212; ervilia, 210; 
faba, 207; fulgens, 210; narbonnen- 
sis, 211; sativa, 210; villosa, 210, 2x1 

Vigna, 184; catjang, 200; sesquipedalis, 
200; sinensis, 200 

Violets, 230 

Viper's bugloss, 249 

Viscera, any organ inclosed within the 
large cavities of the body. 

Vitamine, 46 

Vitis Labrusca, 234; Vinifera, 234 

Volume-weight of seeds, 265-266 

Volva, that part of the universal veil, 
which remains as a cup at the base 
of the stipe of some toadstools; the 
so-called death-cup. 

Walnut pollen and hay- fever, 114 
Water-melon, 232 



294 



INDEX 



Water hemlock as a poisonous plant, 87 

Water hyacinth in Florida, 246 

Weather and poisoning, 14 

Weed-killers, chemical, 256 

Weeds, absolute, 241; as annuals, 252; as 
biennials, 254; as perennials, 254; as 
winter annuals, 252; classification of, 
252; crown, 254; definition of, 241; 
destruction of, 255; distributed by 
automobiles, 245; distributed by 
flying seeds, 245; by trains, 245; 
growth by runners, 245; injurious 
nature of, 241-243; introduced in 
manure, 257; introduction and distri- 
bution, 243; legislation on, 257; lines 
of travel, 246; means of distribution, 
24s; relative, 241; repeated cutting 
of, 255; seeds in Colorado, list of, 
262; smothering with paper, 256; 
special examples, 246; vitality of 
buried seeds, 255 

Welsh onion, 227 

Wheat, 128, 164; adaptation of, 167; 
bread, 165; cultivation of, 168; de- 
scription of, 165; durum, 165; Polish, 
165; production, 155; poulard, 165; 
rotation of, 167; yield of, 168; naked, 
16s 

Whitall, Tatum & Co., mentioned, 154 

White clover, description of, 195; dis- 
tribution of, 197; hay, 197; pasturage, 
197; rotation of, 196; seeding, 197; 
soils, 197; uses of, 196 



White hellebore as a poisonous plant, 5 1 
White snakeroot as a poisonous plant, 104 
Whorled milkweed as a poisonous plant, 

99 
Wikzemski, work of, 89 
Wild black cherry as a poisonous plant, 

67 _ 
Wild indigo, 185 
Wild rice, 128 
Windsor bean, 207 
Winslow, Dr., quoted, 66 
Wistaria, i8r; sinensis, 185 
Wolff-Lehmann standards, 121 
Wooly loco weed as a poisonous plant, 

74 
Wormwood, 244 



Xanthosoma atrovirens, 226 



Yam, 226 

Yautia, 226 

Yeh-peh-ho, 230 

Yellow clover, 187 

Yew, 42 

Yucca elata, 213; glauca, 213 



Zea mays, 155; poisoning by, 45 
Zingiber oflScinale, 226 
Zygadenus veneoosus as a poisonous 
plant, 47 



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